Helping Sutton’s parents and young people

In recent months we have heard a lot about the rising cost of living and how this is affecting each and every one of us. While we are all affected by significant price rises and soaring energy bills, some people in our borough are impacted more than others.

Today I want to highlight some of the support that is available for parents and our young people, especially as we see a return (or start!) of school days and all of the costs associated with this. From new uniforms to stationery, and from school lunches to nursery fees, at Sutton Council we recognise this is an expensive time to be a parent or guardian.

In Sutton we have a Community School Uniform shop which provides free uniforms (branded and unbranded) for any family in need of specific items. If you would like to find out more about requesting uniform items, you will need to complete this form. For those of you who have uniforms you no longer need, please consider donating them to the Uniform shop to help other families in our community - for more information on how to donate, visit our dedicated web page.

The cost of childcare for those who have not reached school age is worryingly very expensive for many parents. While the availability of the government's Free Early Education and Childcare Entitlement for 3-and-4 year olds is relatively well known, there is also the availability of this for 2 year olds where certain criteria are met. Make sure to check whether you and your 2 year olds are eligible to ensure you are not missing out on this additional support.

Lunch is a really important part of the school day and so it is vital that no child goes hungry at this time. If you are in receipt of certain benefits, your children could be eligible for free school meals, so please do check to see whether you qualify.

To help the very youngest in Sutton we will be holding a Start Well early years awareness week in the week after October half term. This is aimed at families with children up to 5 years old and will include a drop-in event at the St Nicholas Centre on 1 November. There will be more information on this soon so please keep an eye out for details in Sutton Scene and on the council’s social media feeds.

And finally, the start of the school year can be tough for some young people. Kooth.com has lots of support which youngsters  could find helpful. For those of you who would like to help mentor some of these young people and have a spare hour or two a week, Volunteer Centre Sutton is looking for new mentoring, advocacy, peer support (MAPS) recruits to volunteer. They match every young person referred with a handpicked volunteer mentor to support them. If you think you can help out, visit Volunteer Centre Sutton to find out more and register to attend their upcoming session in October.

Councillor Ruth Dombey

Leader of Sutton Council