Children’s services

Based at William Cowper Junior School in Newtown, our Out of School Clubs currently support five local schools, and have been running for more than twenty years. They offer a much-needed service for local parents or carers who are at work or training for employment. In the morning, children are provided with breakfast and escorted to school. At the end of school they’re escorted back to the Out of School Club where they join in constructive recreational play until their parents or carers collect them.

During school holidays we also run holiday play schemes with organised activities and trips to places of interest – with benefits both to the children and to parents and carers on low incomes who can’t afford to take leave.

We also manage a range of child care and family support services including an on-site nursery and stay and play sessions in partnership with Handsworth Community Playbus Association through our Children's Centre based at the Centre for the Aston Family.

Ageing well

Reflecting the needs of older people, Birmingham Settlement’s Ageing Well programme is based at the Centre for the Aston Family. We organise activities and support the development of accessible user-led services and events which encourage independent living. We consult and engage with older people to deliver the project, actively involving users in decision-making and signposting other agencies and services with whom we work.

• Consultation and engagement
  Linking with existing groups and events, we ensure that older people themselves are leading activities and influencing decisions
• Money advice
  Working in partnership with local voluntary and community organisations, we advise on pension credits, DLA/AA grants and maximising income – both at surgeries and through outreach arrangements including home visits
• Healthy Ageing
  Using the Centre for the Aston Family as a base, we hold regular events including practical activities to encourage healthy eating, exercise, education and continued personal development
• Training
  We help older people to develop their IT skills via dedicated training sessions on the use of the internet at the “cyber suite” at the Centre for the Aston Family
• Leisure activities
  For older people who simply want to meet with others and relax in a friendly and environment, we hold regular group meetings and help with the discussion and support of projects such as trips to the theatre or cinema, or reminiscence sessions
• Regeneration
  We facilitate forums to give older people a voice and a way of influencing decisions affecting the regeneration of communities in which they live – sometimes difficult when they’re unable to attend meetings
• Signposting
  Through our existing and new networks we signpost older people to the most appropriate agency to provide the advice and support they need – from casework and gardening to aids and adaptations