Support
for Families.
Support for children and families
Children Heard and Seen is a specialist charity supporting children, young people and families affected by parental imprisonment. Our support is designed specifically around the experiences and challenges that parental imprisonment can bring.
We provide:
- Specialist one-to-one support delivered by our Children and Families Practitioners. This is individually tailored to the child and explores the impact of parental imprisonment, including emotions, relationships, stigma, separation, contact and the different stages of a custodial sentence. Referrals for specialist one-to-one support must be made by a professional working with the child or family.
- Volunteer mentoring, providing children and young people with regular support from a trained volunteer mentor.
- Groups for children and young people, providing opportunities to build friendships, take part in activities and meet others who share similar experiences.
- Support for parents and carers, including support around communicating with children about imprisonment and navigating the impact on family life.
- Online groups and activities for children, young people and parents/carers.
- Activity days and residential opportunities, including our annual Summer Residential.
Families can contact Children Heard and Seen directly to find out about our wider support and activities. Specialist one-to-one support has separate referral criteria and requires a professional referral.
For information about support, please email info@childrenheardandseen.co.uk.
Specialist one-to-one support sessions
Our specialist one-to-one support gives children and young people a dedicated space to explore what parental imprisonment means for them.
Delivered by experienced Children and Families Practitioners, the work is shaped around each child rather than following a one-size-fits-all programme. Children may need support with separation and loss, stigma and secrecy, changes in family relationships, contact with a parent in prison, difficult feelings about the offence, or uncertainty about release and what happens next.
Our practitioners use resources and approaches developed specifically for this work, alongside creative and therapeutic activities where appropriate. The focus is on helping children make sense of their experiences, recognise their strengths and develop a positive sense of identity and future that is their own.
Specialist one-to-one support is available in specific geographical areas and may be delivered face-to-face or online. Referrals must be made by a professional working with the child or family.
Volunteer mentors
Our volunteer mentors are carefully recruited, safely vetted and trained before being matched with a child or young person. Mentors receive ongoing support and supervision from Children Heard and Seen, helping to ensure that each mentoring relationship is safe, consistent and focused on the needs of the child.
Children are thoughtfully matched with a mentor, taking into account their age, interests, personality and individual needs. Meeting regularly, mentors provide a trusted and consistent adult relationship outside the family home – someone a child can talk to, spend time with and share new experiences with.
Mentoring can help children to build confidence, develop life skills, try new activities and strengthen social relationships. Mentors and children can also work towards individual goals, whether that is developing a new skill, increasing confidence at school or becoming more connected with their community.
Above all, our mentors provide time, consistency and positive encouragement, giving children space to be themselves and develop their own interests and aspirations.
The impact a consistent mentoring relationship can have can be seen in Ryan’s story, available using the button below.
Specialist Peer and Group Support
Our groups are designed specifically for children, young people and family members affected by parental imprisonment, creating spaces where experiences that can be difficult to talk about elsewhere are understood.
For children and young people, connecting with others who share similar experiences can help reduce the stigma, shame and isolation that can accompany having a parent in prison. Groups provide opportunities to build friendships, develop confidence and explore experiences in an environment where parental imprisonment does not need to be hidden or explained.
Sessions are facilitated by Children Heard and Seen staff who understand the complexities of parental imprisonment and are able to create safe, age-appropriate spaces for connection, activities and discussion.
We also provide specialist groups for parents and carers, recognising the wider impact that imprisonment can have on family relationships, wellbeing and everyday life.
Groups are delivered online and face-to-face, enabling children and families from different geographical areas to connect with others who understand some of the experiences they may be navigating.
Specialist Groups for Children and Young People
Our groups are designed specifically for children and young people affected by parental imprisonment. They provide opportunities to connect with others who understand what it can be like to have a parent in prison – an experience children may not feel able to talk about in other areas of their lives.
Groups provide a safe, non-intrusive and age-appropriate environment where children can take part at their own pace. There is no expectation that children disclose or talk about their parent’s imprisonment. Instead, shared activities and interests create opportunities for connection, helping to reduce the stigma, shame and social isolation that can be associated with parental imprisonment.
Our groups are facilitated by Children Heard and Seen staff who understand the complexities of parental imprisonment and the different ways it can affect children and family life. Through creativity, play, shared interests and peer connection, we aim to strengthen children’s confidence, emotional wellbeing and sense of belonging, while helping them recognise that they are not alone.
Our group programme develops in response to the ages, interests and needs of the children and young people we support, so the groups available may change throughout the year.
Current Online Groups
Create and Connect – An art-based group using creativity to help children explore their dreams, aspirations and sense of identity. Creative activities provide a relaxed way for children to express themselves, build confidence and connect with others who share the experience of parental imprisonment.
Create, Aspiration, Love & Mental Wellbeing (CALM) – For children aged 8+, providing a supportive space to connect with peers, explore different themes and build confidence and emotional wellbeing.
Chess Club – A relaxed, interest-based group bringing children together through chess. Children can learn and develop their skills, practise problem-solving and strategic thinking, and build friendships with others who share similar experiences.
Teen Group – A dedicated space for teenagers affected by parental imprisonment to connect with others of a similar age. The group provides opportunities for conversation, shared activities and peer connection in an environment where having a parent in prison is understood and does not need to be explained.
Minecraft Group – Using children’s shared interest in Minecraft to bring together children affected by parental imprisonment in a relaxed and interactive environment, helping to build friendships, encourage teamwork and reduce social isolation.
Parent/Carer Groups
Our parent/carer support is for the non-offending parent/carer, whether or not they are still in a relationship with the parent in prison.
Parents have the opportunity to meet others in a similar situation and form peer-support groups, aided by our trained staff. We 6-8 different adult support groups a week. These include groups for adults impacted by specific offence types, such as domestic abuse, and sexual offences.
Our current group work programme is listed below, however it does regularly change due to need and demand.
- Comfort Group – group that shares hopes and advice that deals with the journey of families affected by parental imprisonment
- Exploring Trauma – Support for individuals that have been impacted by trauma
- Support group for mothers caring for children with a father in prison for sexual offences
- Kids Matter Parenting Programme – 6-week parenting support group
Activity Days and Residential Weekends
Summer Residential
Our annual Summer Residential is an opportunity for children and their families to come together and celebrate their shared experience in a safe and non-judgemental environment. Children are able to roam free around the 67 acres of Hill End, taking part in
activities such as football, boxing, creative art activities, nature trails, and so much more. The weekend provides an opportunity to reduce social isolation, feelings of stigma and forge long-term, sustainable peer support networks with others in similar situations.
One of the highlights of the weekend is a visit from three Police Officers. They speak to young people and answer any questions they may have about the police. For many children, their only previous experience of Police Officers is the arrest of their parent. The weekend is a great opportunity to show young people the Police Force in a different, more positive light and rebuild relationships with authority
Activity Days
We also hold monthly in-person activity events in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Birmingham. These include activities at local museums, botanical gardens, libraries, wildlife parks and other activity centres, as well as our annual Christmas and Easter parties. One of our most popular group activities in Oxford is a project with Modern Art Oxford, where each month children impacted by parental imprisonment explore different themes through art. These sessions focus on different themes each month, such as belonging, control, and exploration.
Parenting support
We support parents around all aspects of parental imprisonment, including how to tell children they have a parent in prison, issues around contact and visits and support around release as this is often the most stressful time for families. Our support is for the non-offending parent, whether or not they are still in a relationship with the parent in prison.
Additional Resources
We understand that reaching out and asking for support can be difficult at times, and that many families follow our work online via social media for quite some time before reaching out for direct support. To try and help in the meantime, we offer a range of generalised resources designed to help families navigate the difficult waters of parental imprisonment. When a family makes contact with the charity, our specialised staff are able to work with the carer to create personalised resources, taking into account the child’s developmental needs, the nature of the parent’s offence and the child’s relationship with the imprisoned parent.
To view all our (and other organisation’s) resources, click on the ‘Resources’ tab above.
Refer to Children Heard and Seen
If you are caring for a child with a parent in prison, you can contact us to find out more about the support available to you and your family. Please email info@childrenheardandseen.co.uk.
Please note: referrals for specialist one-to-one support for children must be made by a professional working with the child or family.