Sheffield Information Link Annual Report 2011-12

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Hazel Barratt (parent)

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“ I didn’t have a clue where to go for help but then I rang SIL. Within ten minutes they found childminders that could take care of the kids; it was such a relief.”

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Sheffield Information Link Annual Review 2011 – 2012

S ET O F A LI E S IN MI

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Message from the Chair Against a backdrop of change and challenge, Sheffield Information Link continues to deliver successfully.

This year we have re-focused our outreach work to provide information in targeted areas of greatest need.

SIGN, our specialist support service for the families of children with disabilities, special needs and health conditions, is in its 10th year of operation and this year we successfully launched a new city-wide outreach service.

SIL Solutions, our trading arm continues to grow and develop. This year SIL Solutions delivered a new range of training courses to local business, and became the official provider of Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber Childcare.

SIL is proud to have been awarded the Investors in People Champion award, which demonstrates not only that we are a Gold Standard organisation, but also that we are striving to share our excellence with others.

We are one of just 155 organisations in the country to have achieved this prestigious status.

As part of our commitment to supporting our staff, we provided a health and wellbeing assessment to our team this year.

Management Committee members were also included, and I personally found it an extremely valuable experience and learnt a lot about my health!

We said goodbye to 11 staff and welcomed 8 new colleagues to SIL. I would like to thank all staff for their continued hard work, commitment and enthusiasm.

This year we welcomed Rachel Bovill to our management committee, and trustee Roldan Tagaro is making a direct contribution to SIL through an internship.

We look forward to more change, challenge and opportunity in the next year.

Tracy Watterson Chair, SIL Management Committee

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Information in your community What you need, when you need it – that’s the principle behind our community work.

Our outreach service brings our childcare experts directly to the parents who need their support.

Following mid-year cuts to our funding, we refocused our community work on the areas of greatest need. Our new-look outreach service works to raise awareness of Free Early Learning and Working Tax Credits in targeted areas of the city.

Our outreach team helped nearly 1800 families in the first half of this year We believe that all parents should have access to the best quality information.

So we’ve developed a training session for staff at other organisations who work directly with parents. This gives advice on sources of advice and support in Sheffield, and how staff can help parents to access them.

For details of forthcoming sessions, call SIL on 0114 249 8271 or email info@sheffinfolink.org.uk.

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Childcare crisis?

We can help.

What do you do when you need childcare, but there just isn’t any available where you live? What if you’re not confident speaking English, or your child needs specialist support?

Our unique brokerage service gives one-to-one support to families. We work intensively with parents to fully resolve their issue, helping them to get back to the workplace or access the services they need. This year we helped nearly 70 families in this way.

Gemma Hopkins from Pitsmoor contacted us for help with after-school childcare.

She needed just two hours of childcare a day, but a shortage of providers in her area meant that no service was available.

Our team brokered an arrangement with two childminders who were able to share the care. As a result, Gemma was able to take on extra hours of work.

To refer a client or access one-to-one support, call SIL on 0114 249 8271 or email info@sheffinfolink.org.uk.

“ I really could not believe it – I had spent months looking for childcare and they sorted it out in about ten minutes. I now have a full wrap around childcare service thanks to SIL.”

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Leading the way in disability information SIGN Information Service provides specialist support and advice for the families of children with disabilities, special needs and health conditions.

We also work closely with professionals across Sheffield. SIGN is in its tenth year, and is a centre of national excellence in disability information.

Almost 1600 questions answered this year This year SIGN won a contract to provide information to Sheffield families into the future. We’ve redeveloped the service, allowing us to do more of the things we know work best.

“ I was able to continue working, and I am not worried something will go wrong.”

New services this year City-wide outreach: We take information directly to families and professionals all over the city.

Online updates: More information online through a new website and monthly e-newsletter.

Specialist Homebased Childcare: This new scheme allows parents to choose a speciallytrained practitioner or volunteer to care for or help with their child. SIGN provides a matching service, plus in-depth support and advice.

For specialist disability information and support, contact SIGN on 0114 266 9476, sign@sheffinfolink.org.uk or visit www.signdisability.org.uk

“ We were able to enjoy a weekend away as a family.”

“ The information helped us to understand our son’s needs more, and we have made changes to help him.”

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SIL Solutions: Supporting Your Business In February 2011 we launched our trading arm, SIL Solutions, to share our expertise in information development, delivery and back-office services.

SIL Solutions specialises in business-tobusiness support and problem-solving, including HR, IT, training and consultancy services. 100% of its profits are gifted to Sheffield Information Link, supporting our work with Sheffield’s families.

Top products from our first year Childcare Payment Solutions: Save money for your business and your employees by paying for childcare costs before tax deductions. It’s even cheaper than childcare vouchers, because we support you to manage the scheme yourself. We are the official provider of Chamber Childcare to Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce members.

Electronic Information Pads: Your company’s most important resources at the touch of a button. Available as a hand-held unit for staff on the move, or a wall-mounted unit for customer information.

Training Services: High-quality training for professional and personal development, including Makaton, Neurolinguistic Programming and Stress Management.

To find out how SIL Solutions can support your business: Tel: 0114 275 8876 Email: info@silsolutions.co.uk www.silsolutions.co.uk www.twitter.com/silsolutions

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Information you can rely on Up-to-date, comprehensive information is essential to our work with families, as well as to the success of other local organisations which rely on us for the information they need.

Our information is freely available to all through the ask Sid website, where parents and professionals can find out about local leisure activities, childcare, disability information, family support services and more. The site contains details of around 5000 organisations, services and events at any time, empowering families to seek out the services they need.

We’ve been recognised for the outstanding quality of our information management and research by the Information Standard (awarded July 2012). Our work meets the Information Duty of the Childcare Act 2006, supporting local authority strategy for supporting families, young people and children. We also hold the NAFIS Families First award, a highly-regarded quality standard.

To promote your organisation or activities to Sheffield families on ask Sid, email asksid@sheffinfolink.org.uk or call 0114 249 4923.

www.asksid.net

This year, there were

20,467 visits to ask Sid, with 158,752 pages being viewed

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Sheffield Information Link Team Staff

Naomi Swain

Noreen Ahmed (until Sept 2011)

Roldan Tagaro (from Jan 2012)

Semaira Asif (until Sept 2011)

Rosie Taylor

Sharron Baroudi

Angela Turner (until Sep 2011)

Anna Berridge

Penny Wightwick (until Sep 2011)

Paula Bird

John Wiseman (until Feb 2012)

Anna Brown

Eman Yafai (until Sep 2011)

Jacqui Dace

Dylan Yamada-Rice (Jan – Mar 2012)

Seirian Davies Lorna Dowrick (until April 2011) Charlene Fernandes Emma Green (from Feb 2012) Mandy Hetherington Jill Hughes (from July 2010)

Volunteers

John Lawton (Nov 2011 – Feb 2012) Daniel McGuren (until March 2012) Rachel Money (until Dec 2011) Ruth Moore Andrea Naylor Richard Pashley (from Jan 2012) Rachel Plummer (from Oct 2011) Emily Rapley (until Dec 2011) Casey Smallwood Trudie Smallwood Alison Smith

Registered Charity No: 1065185 Company No: 3426470 Company Secretary: Sharron Baroudi www.sheffinfolink.org.uk www.asksid.net www.signdisability.org.uk

Registered Office: Sheffield Information Link 9 Leopold Street Sheffield S1 2GY

Alison Adler (from Dec 2010) Grace Falding (June 2010) Olivia Fisher (Feb – Mar 2011)

Melanie Hunt (from July 2011) Sue James

This Annual Review has been produced to provide a more detailed account of SIL’s progress this year, in addition to the Management Committee’s formal Annual Report and Accounts, which have been prepared to the Statement of Recommended Practice.

Management Committee

Bankers: HSBC 2 Fargate Sheffield S1 2JS

Chair: Tracy Watterson Treasurer: Ged Warren Rachel Bovill (casual appointment from Jan 2012) Piotr Debogorski (until Sep 2011) Sarah Jones (until Aug 2011)

Charities Aid Foundation 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4TA

Kay Rollings Karen Simpkin (until Jan 2012) Roldan Tagaro

Auditors: UHY Wingfield Slater 6 Broadfield Court Broadfield Way Sheffield S8 0XF

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank our funders without whom much of our work would not be possible. © Sheffield Information Link 2012