A service for families of children and young people with disabilities and special needs.
Many families caring for a children or young person who is disabled or has special needs receive help and support from health, education and social services departments. However, parents do not always receive clear information about the services that are available to them and may not know who to contact to request the services that and their child/young person need.
Hawthorn Project was set up as a Pembrokeshire Children’s Centre in August 2000 to address this problem by improving inter-agency cooperation and offering support and advice to families. The centre works in partnership with Pembrokeshire County council and Hywel Dda NHS Trust.
Information centre.
We collect information on all kinds of issues related to caring for a child or young person with special needs. You can call in or telephone with queries and if we haven’t got the information you need, we will find it for you.
A place to meet.
There is a comfortable small meeting room and a larger training room available at a small charge for any group who is involved with disabled children/young people. The child development team holds regular meetings in the centre, as do parent support groups.
Coordinator scheme.
A key worker scheme is available to families where a disabled child or young person is receiving services from more than two agencies. Key works coordinate services, offer support to the whole family, provide information as required and act as an advocate when necessary. This services is available for ages 2-18 years for a period of 12 weeks with the aim to empower families, attend reviews, and liaise with other professionals with and on behalf of the families.
Parenting courses.
We offer Webster Stratton Parenting courses on a rolling programme. The course offers parents the opportunity to learn and develop positive parenting skills over a 10-week programme 2 hours a week and focuses on the importance of early intervention. This service is offered to families of children and young people aged 2-8 years.