Call for West Somerset families to adopt children in care

A FRESH call is being made for families in West Somerset to step forward to give permanent homes to children presently in the care of Somerset County Council.
The appeal has been timed to coincide with the start on Monday, November 10, of National Adoption Week.
The county council is hoping that the week of awareness will encourage more people to put themselves forward as adoptive parents.
The authority is particularly looking for families who can adopt children aged over five years, and it welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
It currently has 17 children aged from nine months to nine years who are waiting for an opportunity to live permanently with a new family.
The four girls and 13 boys include one sibling group of three, and four sibling groups of two.
Linda Barnett, head of children’s social care at the council, said: “The process for becoming an adoptive parent is rigorous, and so it should be.
“But there are no blanket bans so please do not think we will turn you down because you are over-40, single, or because you do not own your own home.
“We need people who can offer a loving and supportive family for life.”
Information about adopting in Somerset will be available at a drop-in session being held on Friday, November 14, between 10.30 am and 1 pm in North Street Church, North Street, Taunton.
County portfolio holder for strategic services for children and young people,
Councillor Pauline Clarke, said: “It is a sad fact that some children are unable to stay with their birth family for all sorts of reasons.
“The council is hoping potential adoptive parents will come forward to give these children the best possible chance to restart their lives.”
National Adoption Week aims to raise awareness of adoption and encourage potential parents to come forward.
There are about 4,000 children in the UK who need adoption every year.
Anybody who believes they have what it takes to become an adoptive parent should contact the county council by calling the freephone number 0800 587 9900 or visiting www.somerset.gov.uk/adoption.

CLOWNS gets Lottery grant for play scheme, but Playbus still under threat

NEWS of a £164,295 National Lottery award to West Somerset children’s charity CLOWNS has been tempered by continuing worries over the viability of some of its other services.
CLOWNS has achieved a track record over many years of delivering quality, affordable and fun outreach provision and support to families across West Somerset and Exmoor.
It now provides more than 1,500 different sessions every year, with a total of more than 9,000 attendances, visiting 24 different village and town locations.
The windfall from the Big Lottery Fund will allow it to expand its former Tumbling Toddlers scheme which was primarily aimed at young children, to engage with the whole family in fun activities.
Entire families will be encouraged to be more active and learn about healthy eating.
An outreach support van will travel to villages to offer isolated families an opportunity to join in weekly physical activity sessions in their local village halls, schools, or children’s centres.
Parents, grandparents, carers, and children aged up to four years will share the themed sessions, which aim to educate in areas of healthy living and eating as well as early literacy and numeracy.
CLOWNS co-ordinator Kathy Morton said: “We are so pleased that we have the funding for this important part of our work.
“It will make a huge difference to the lives of some of our most isolated families across the area, and we are now busy preparing for this new work.”
However, Mrs Morton warned the charity was still worried about all the other funding it needed to be able to carry on with all the other parts of its work.
She said the Lottery good news had been followed by some bad news when another funding application was turned down.
Mrs Morton said: “We still need to get funding for the costs of running the Playbus.
“We should be taking delivery of our new double decker bus very shortly, but we are still short of at least £35,000 of the total running cost for the whole year’s budget.
“We will now try other avenues of support, but it all takes a lot of time and effort. We would all prefer to be out delivering all our sessions.”
CLOWNS chairman Jan Ross, told The Post: “We have several strands of provision, including our well-known double decker Playbus, outreach support van, toy library, scrap store, and holiday play schemes.”
Mrs Ross said recent consultations carried out by West Somerset Council showed people were concerned about the lack of facilities and activities for children and families at ‘reasonable’ prices.
A local area agreement had set a target under to increase the proportion of adults who did at least three 30-minute sessions of moderate or strenuous physical activity a week.
Mrs Ross said CLOWNS would work with health and physical activity manager Tracey Milton and her team from Somerset Primary Care Trust to carry out appropriate fun diagnostic tests at the beginning of the programmes, with regular monitoring of progress of individuals during the project.
Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership would also work in partnership with the new project.
Big Lottery Fund regional head Mark Cotton said: “This award will help families interact and enjoy learning in fun and stimulating surroundings.
“Some areas of the county are very isolated, making some facilities much less accessible so I am certain these projects will bring a great deal to families and communities as a whole.”
CLOWNS welcomes visitors, and would be pleased to meet anybody interested in its work. More information can be obtained or appointments made by telephoning 01643 707190.