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SID

Information, Advice and Support
 



Tameside Citizens Advice Bureau

We aim to provide the advice people need for the problems they face and improve the policies and practices that affect people's lives. We provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.

  • Address:
  • Clarence Arcade
  • Stamford St
  • Ashton-under-Lyne
  • OL6 7PT
 
  • Telephone: 0300 330 1153

Ridge Hill Citizens Advice Bureau

We aim to provide the advice people need for the problems they face and improve the policies and practices that affect people's lives. We provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.

  • Address:
  • Big Local Hub 4 Ambleside Ridge Hill
  • Stalybridge
  • Cheshire
  • SK15 1EB

Open Wednesday morning 9am - 12pm

Family Rights Group

Family Rights Group promotes policies and practices that keep children safe within their family and strengthen the family and community networks of those children who cannot live at home. We campaign for families to have their voice heard, be treated fairly and get help early to prevent problems escalating.
 
We are a national charity that advises parents, grandparents, relatives and friends about their rights and options when social workers or courts make decisions about their children’s welfare. We work with parents whose children are in need, at risk or are in the care system and with wider family members and friends who are raising children (known as kinship carers).
 
Online advice service
Visit our website www.frg.org.uk for easy-to-follow, online advice. Features include an A-Z, FAQs, films, top tips and legal advice sheets. You may also want to visit our advice forums, where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice on the child welfare system.
 
Freephone Telephone Advice Line
Family Rights Group runs a free, independent and confidential advice service. We advise families when they are involved with children’s services or need their help. We provide advice for parents, grandparents, relatives and friends including kinship carers in England. Our expert advisers are all experienced lawyers, social workers or family rights advocates. They help families to understand the law and child welfare processes and their rights and options. And to better understand social work concerns.

0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday: 9.30am to 3.00pm).

Tameside Women and their Families Centre

Location: Tameside 

We are a centre for all women aged 18yrs+ and their families who live in the Tameside area. We offer 1-2-1 and group support for women who want to make changes to their life but don't know where to start.

  • Creche for children 5yrs and under
  • Lunch and refreshments provided
  • Weekly gym sessions
  • Housing drop in
  • CAB drop in
  • Legal advice
  • Debt advice
  • Alcohol and drug Services
  • Domestic Violence advice


We deliver a range of groups supporting women with issues such as mental health, drugs and alcohol, employment and training, parenting, self esteem and confidence.

We also run English and Maths classes and there are many volunteering opportunities available

On Wednesdays we run a group from Silver Springs School, Ridgehill, Stalybridge

Office Opening Times: Monday 9-5, Tuesday 9-7, Wednesday Closed, Thursday Closed, Friday 9-4, Saturday Closed, Sunday Closed

Referral Method: Self Refer, Telephone or drop in.

 

The Money Advice Service

People face hard choices with money throughout their lives – at moments of crisis such as a divorce, or when they choose products such as a pension or car finance. Confronted with these events, most of us could make smarter decisions, given the right support. Yet 24 million people in the UK do not feel in control of their finances, and 8 million risk not being able to service their debts. We do the things that, if we don’t do them, nobody else will. Government has set MAS up, and funded us with a levy on financial services, to offer unique and essential help with money - whether that’s best delivered directly by us, or through others. We are in a fortunate and unique position, because we never sell anything to anyone. So we offer a comprehensive website with fast, free, independent help on everything from pensions to pet insurance. We offer a call centre with highly trained staff who can tell people where to get the right help at the right time on any financial topic.

We use evidence to understand who across the UK most needs help. We find out what works. We deliver this through partners where we can, or directly if not, to improve the ability of people to manage their money. 

Got a question? Web chat with one of our advisers, please see website for more info.
 

Welfare Rights

Please click here to download document for relevant information(0.22MB)

Family Information Service

We are a free, impartial service that aims to help all families find information, advice and support, when they need it, were they need it.  We can provide you with advice on childcare,  Free Entitlement Funding (FEF) for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, children's centre activities and how to register as a child minder or set up a childcare business. We also have a wide variety of information about local and national services that can offer assistance to families and can put you in touch with these services if you need further support or information.  With so much information about, it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start or who to contact to find exactly what you need. This is where the Family Information Service (FIS) can help.

To give you an idea of how we can help have a look at the questions below and if you can answer yes to any of them, get in touch!

  • Do you need to find good quality childcare so that you can work, train or study?
  • Are you looking for things to do as a family or activities for children and young people to do?
  • Do you want to talk to somebody about a health, education or parenting issue?
  • Are you looking for services and support for your child with additional needs?
  • Thinking of working with children or setting up a childcare business?
 
  • Telephone: 0161 342 4260
  • Email: fis@tameside.gov.uk

The Patient Information Centre

Location: Ashton 

The centre is for patients, their carers and family members whether an inpatient, outpatient or patient of a GP. The office is open Monday to Friday and when closed you may leave a message on the telephone voicemail service or by email. Please do not forget to leave your contact details so that we can answer your enquiry as soon as possible.

The centre provides a free health information service which includes booklets on all key health conditions. We can provide you with the following information:-

  • patient information leaflets;
  • details of national and local support groups and health charities;
  • a directory of services and support provided by Tameside Council for support after you leave hospital.
  • Health information from national organisations, eg. Diabetes UK or the British Heart Foundation.
  • Internet based information from trusted websites
  • local self-help group contact details
  • council information and signposting to other services, such as The Carers Centre, Adult Services or PALS.

We are open between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. Outside these hours you can leave a message on the telephone voicemail service, or you can email us.

 
  • Address: Tameside General Hospital, Fountain Street, Ashton-under-Lyne
  • For more information
  • Telephone: 0161 922 5332
  • Email: healthinfo@tgh.nhs.uk

Advice Now

Advicenow is an independent, not-for-profit website, run by the charity Law for Life: the Foundation for Public Legal Education. It provides accurate information on rights and the law. We believe that everybody should have access to clear and effective guidance to help them deal with law-related issues.


Age UK

We help millions of people to know their rights and make the best choices for later life. We put people in control of the care they receive, while sharing best practice to improve services. We tackle loneliness, get older people active, and support people to stay independent for longer. We run campaigns and conduct research to help make later life better for older people today and tomorrow. We help the network to offer vital community support by providing unrestricted income, helping it raise money, and working together to improve quality. Age UK’s international charity delivers our work in some of the poorest countries around the world.

PDSA - The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals

We are the UK's leading vet charity. We are a leading authority on all things concerning pet health and wellbeing: whether it's leading the debate on pet obesity, conducting Britain's biggest annual pet wellbeing survey, raising the status of animals or simply celebrating their contribution to our lives. We provide free and low cost veterinary treatment for pets that are in need. 

We understand that it takes more than emergency veterinary care to give our pets the healthy, happy lives they all deserve. Our 48 Pet Hospitals are at the heart of what we do but our work goes much further than that: into schools, communities and working with private vet practices, too. 
  • Address: 45 Warrington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7JG
  • Telephone: 07824626646

Oratto

Free Parenting Plan and Advice on Divorce & Child Arrangements
 
Oratto understand that family break-up is a very challenging and emotionally stressful life event. Knowing where to begin to look for advice and information is difficult; Oratto provide free information and advice on all family law matters to anyone who is seeking such support.
Our website is a great online free resource full of useful information on a wide range of family law matters, including:
Divorce and civil partnership dissolutions
Financial settlements in divorce or civil partnership dissolutions
Child arrangements, and disagreements over arrangements,
Child Abduction
The stages of divorce
Pre-nuptial agreements
Cohabitation separation
Please visit our website to see the full extent of the information and guides available. https://oratto.co.uk/
 
Oratto have written a comprehensive Parenting Plan to help parents have a constructive discussion about parenting their children after a separation or divorce. The Parenting Plan covers a wide number of areas and gives parents the opportunity to consider all aspects of their children’s’ lives. Parenting Plans more flexible than Child Arrangements Orders (which require mandatory safeguarding checks) and can be changed easily and with minimal expense; and mean that parents do not need to go to Court.
 
Parenting Plans can be used for a variety of purposes, including:
  • Proposing suggested arrangements for the consideration of the other parent
  • A mediation process
  • Enabling a discussion between parents about child arrangements
  • Formalising agreed arrangements for children
  • Including a parenting plan with a C100 application for a child arrangements, specific issue or prohibited steps order.
Oratto’s Parenting Plan can also serve as a formal agreement between parents on the arrangements for their children, and how they would like to co-parent and bring their children up after separation or divorce.

Oratto's experienced Immigration solicitors are able to advise and assist on a wide range of immigration matters, including:
  • Coming to the UK as a visitor, 
  • Coming to the UK as a child visitor,
  • Student visas,
  • Business visitors,
  • Sportsperson visas
  • Coming to the UK to get married or register a civil partnership
  • Sponsoring a visitor, 
  • Temporary Worker Visas
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain, 
  • Appealing an unsuccessful application,
  • Human Rights & Asylum
  • Ancestry Visas, etc
 
We offer a range of fixed-fee services, including applications and appeals. We provide services to people across England & Wales.
Languages spoken: English, Bengali, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Marathi, Mirpuri, Polish, Punjabi, Urdu.
 
We offer a free initial telephone consultation (maximum of 30 minutes) with our experienced family law advisers. You can discuss your situation with our advisers who will be able to offer you advice and information specific to your circumstances. To book your free consultation, please call our Helpline on 0800 368 6338, or email us at contact@oratto.co.uk. All calls and emails are confidential.  

Brake

The road safety charity
 
Every day in the UK, five people die on roads and about 60 more are seriously injured, causing needless loss of life and inflicting terrible suffering.
We work to stop these tragedies and support people left bereaved and injured. We also work to end the danger, threat and pollution from traffic that blights communities and affects families across the UK.We have been working since 1995 to make a difference across the UK.

We promote road safety awareness, safe and sustainable road use, and effective road safety policies through campaigns, community education, information and advice for organisations operating fleets of vehicles and road safety professionals, and the UK’s flagship road safety event, Road Safety Week. We provide essential support to people across the UK devastated by road death and serious injury to help them in their darkest hours.

Beep Beep! Days with Timmy Time are a great opportunity for early year’s educators to introduce 2-7 year olds to road safety basics, with fun activities and resources provided by Brake.

You can register for your free action pack and get involved during Road Safety Week 2019. The pack includes lots of fun road safety activities or purchase a bumper pack (£11.50 +VAT) for more reusable, laminated road safety activities, certificates and stickers!
  • 01484 550061 (education line)
  • 01484 559909 (main line)

Cafcass

Cafcass stands for Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Cafcass represents children in family court cases in England. We independently advise the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests. We put their needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children’s voices are heard at the heart of the family court setting. Operating within the law set by Parliament (Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000) and under the rules and directions of the family courts, we are independent of the courts, social services, education and health authorities and all similar agencies. Our duty is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children going through the family justice system, supporting over 140,000 children every year by understanding their experiences and speaking up for them when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures. Cafcass is the largest employer of qualified social workers in England and is deeply committed to making a positive difference to each child we support. We are proud that everyone working for Cafcass is united in improving the lives of children, families and carers.

Our duty is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children going through the family justice system. Our experienced Family Court Advisers may be asked by the court to work with families and then advise the court on what we consider to be the best interests of the children involved in three main areas:

  • divorce and separation, sometimes called ‘private law’, where parents or carers can’t agree on arrangements for their children
  • care proceedings, sometimes called ‘public law’, where social services have serious concerns about the safety or welfare of a child
  • adoption, which can be either public or private law.

We also actively work with our partners to identify solutions to help reduce the increasing pressures on the family courts and to improve the experiences and outcomes for children and families.