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Lone parenthood is often accompanied by additional pressures and anxieties arising from the practical challenge of dealing with childcare, finances, housing, work opportunities and access issues. There are many valuable sources of support and information in all of these areas. National Council for One Parent Families
An organisation set up in 1918 concerned with the support and welfare of lone parents and their children. They represent the interests of lone parents in the political arena, shaping such policies as the government’s New Deal for Lone Parents. Consult their factsheets or call their helpline (freephone 0800 018 5026) for further information. One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS)
A highly informative site with an excellent range of practical factsheets, pages of FAQs and a thoughtful children’s book guide. Gingerbread is a charity dedicated to giving practical and emotional support to lone parents. Call their Advice Line (freephone 0800 018 4318) for details of local support groups or guidance on any issue relating to lone parenthood. You can also consult their Lone Parents’ Handbook online.
Gingerbread Northern Ireland
Gingerbread Ireland Telephone: 00 353 1 6710 291
Gingerbread Scotland Telephone: 0141 576 5085/7976 Planet One Parent
This comprehensive portal site aims to provide all the tools and information to enable lone parents to tackle most areas of life with courage and confidence. If you have become a lone parent through separation, divorce or bereavement you may also wish to see our sections on these subjects. SUPPORTSupport in many forms is available online, from practical advice on parenting issues to information about counselling. To find the relevant local agencies contact the National Council for One Parent Families Lone Parent Helpline (0800 018 5026) or fill in your details online for a print-out. You need to go to the ‘Local Agencies Request’ section. Planet One Parent has a relationship counselling and mediation page. Parentline Plus provides information and support to families and operates a national freephone helpline (0808 800 2222) for parents and carers in stressful situations. National Family and Parenting Institute provides information on a range of parenting issues. Homestart is a family support charity helping families with more than one child under five. If you think you or your child might benefit from counselling see our section on Counsellors and Therapists. The National Council for the Divorced & Separated runs counselling centres in several regions. Telephone: 07041 478120. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s Child Protection Helpline now offers a service via e-mail as well as by telephone. Contact a Family (0207 383 3555) is a national registered charity dedicated to helping families who care for children with a disability or special need. They help by: providing information about disabilities; putting families in touch with other families with disabled children; helping parents to develop their own local or national support groups; campaigning on behalf of families with disabled children. CONTACT AND ACCESSIf there are unresolved contact issues with the other parent of your child, you might find it helpful to contact the Children’s Legal Centre, an organisation that provides free advice and information. The Gingerbread factsheet takes a practical look at this often complex issue. The National Association of Child Contact Centres provides locations where your child can have contact with the other parent under the supervision of a third party, without need for any contact between you and the other parent. The Grandparents' Federation is a campaigning organisation for grandparents, running a helpline with advice and support in issues such as contact problems on 01279 444964. SHARED PARENTINGThere is much evidence to suggest that children benefit from spending a significant amount of time with each parent following a separation or divorce rather than being cared for principally by one parent. Shared Parenting Information Group (SPIG) UK
Promotes responsible shared parenting after separation/divorce and acts as a resource for information and research on the subject for all concerned.
Telephone/Fax: 01793 851544 Families Need Fathers provides a guide to shared parenting and a range of advice on legal and other issues facing fathers and mothers who are separated or divorced. CHILDCAREWithout the security of good, reliable childcare, it may be difficult to carry on your work or start exploring new career or study opportunities. Sharing the care of your child with a professional adult whose company your child enjoys and whom you feel you can trust may also help to relieve some of the pressure of lone parenting. See our section on Childcare. The Gingerbread site details how to find and pay for registered childcare. One Parent Families Scotland produces a childcare factsheet which you can download. THE JOB MARKETFamily friendly employment is a concept that pulls together all the involved parties - employers, employees and agencies - in order to create an easier and mutually beneficial way of working. Schemes may include flexible working arrangements, jobshares, workplace nurseries, etc. Find out more from the Islington Women’s Equality Unit site. Planet One Parent’s ‘Work and training’ section will help you to consider the work question from various angles. They have a very useful page on starting a business which is full of suggestions about where to apply for loans. The DSS offers help with new businesses, but you will need to visit your local Job Centre for details. Parents at Work is a valuable source of information about childcare, working rights and benefits. They offer free legal advice to lone parents (Helpline 020 7628 2128). If you are thinking of employment opportunities, the Government’s New Deal initiative is designed to help lone parents who want to work. Thee DSS and your local Job Centre can advise you about which benefits you are entitled. They include Working Families Tax Credit, Childcare Tax Credit, Back to Work Bonus, Child Maintenance Bonus, Jobfinder’s Grant, Lone Parent’s Benefit Run-On and Extended Housing Benefit. Under the scheme you will be allocated an adviser who will discuss training needs and work possibilities with you. From April 2001 there will be an extra payment for lone parents who take up training for work and help towards childcare costs if the hours are less than 16 hours per week. The Inland Revenue runs a Tax Credit Helpline on 0845 609 5000. Gingerbread have more details of these benefits in their ‘Back to Work’ factsheet. The charity Mind produces a ‘Guide to Surviving Working Life’ which can be ordered direct from their bookshop. HONING YOUR SKILLSIf you wish to continue your education, or acquire new skills in order to pursue a different line of work, the Department of Education and Employment has a useful page of links entitled ‘Adult Learners’ Gateway’ (the Parent’s Gateway may well also be of interest). Visit your local library or the ‘Floodlight’ website (London area only) for details of adult education courses. EdUK is an online educational advisory service which has a map of all the universities in the UK and will allow you to link to those nearest to you for information about current courses. If home study seems more realistic, explore the options on the University website or take a look at the list of correspondence courses offered by BSY Group which include alternative medicine, management studies, physical fitness and writing skills. Learning Direct site provides free, confidential, independent advice, as well as education and training courses with crèche places. It also runs a National Helpline on 0800 100 900 and gives information on funding grants and trusts. Gingerbread, a charity set up by lone parents to help other lone parents, works with the government and various groups in providing training for lone parents. The Gingerbread Advice Line is on freephone 0800 018 4318. Gingerbread Northern Ireland also offers a number of schemes for training to get lone parents back to work. Contact Gingerbread Scotland at 1307 Argyle Street, Glasgow G3 8TL. Telephone: 0141-576 5085/7976. There are a number of schemes devised to support adult learners. If you are already in full-time education or plan to apply for a full time course, the DfEE’s site sets out the financial help available to lone parents, most of which does not require repayment. It includes Childcare, Lone Parent and Dependents’ Grants; assistance with travel, books etc.; Access bursaries and Hardship loans. There are various educational trusts you can approach for a grant. One Parent Family Scotland provides a list of UK and Scottish trusts as well as an excellent page on education and training geared to lone parents. YOUR HEALTHIf you feel that the pressures involved in raising children and running a household single-handed are beginning to take their toll on your health and well-being, or you are trying find a way of incorporating exercise and relaxation into your life, take a look at the health and fitness pages on the Planet One Parent site.
MIND is a charity committed to relieving mental distress and mental health problems. The MindinfoLine offers guidance on different types of mental distress and where to go for help. It ison Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Telephone: 020 8522 1728 (London area), 08457 660 163 (outside London). They hold an extensive selection of publications about mental health issues as well as their own award-winning booklets. These include a number of short guides on Managing Stress, Physical Activity and Yoga. All can be ordered online from their bookshop. SANE aims to provide clear information about a range of mental health problems and the treatments that are available. Volunteers are available on SANELINE (0845 767 8000) to answer queries and offer support to anyone experiencing or affected by a mental health crisis. GETTING AWAYThere are a number of very good initiatives designed to give single parents some time off when they need it. Low cost holidays and holiday grants are also available. For a list of holiday trusts see the OPFS site. Planet One Parent provides details of holiday packages geared to lone parents and information about discounts available from some of the tour operators. The National Council for One Parent Families publishes an annual booklet with contacts, suggestions and advice on holidays, house swaps, farm holidays, self-catering and general travel advice. HELP offers discount holidays in Britain and abroad. View the list of contacts for up-to-date details. One Parent Family Holidays provides holidays with up to 76% discount. Visit their website for more information. BOOKS FOR CHILDRENThe National Council for One Parent Families produces a book list with an introduction by author J. K. Rowling entitled ‘Families Just Like Us’ which includes stories about other one-parent families. OPFC also recommends books which deal with a range of situations affecting children in single parent families. LEGAL ADVICESee our section on Lawyers & Legal Advice. The Children’s Legal Centre provides free legal advice on a variety of child-orientated legal issues. The National Council for One Parent Families runs an information service for lone parents, other organisations, local authorities and the media. It also campaigns and lobbies to change the law and improve provisions for one-parent families. Helpline: freephone 0800 018 5026. Planet One Parent addresses the key legal issues faced by lone parents on their website. OPFS offers legal guidance for lone parents in Scotland. MANAGING YOUR FINANCESIf you are not used to taking responsibility for budgeting and financial decisions, the following guidance may be useful. The National Council for One Parent Families produces a range of factsheets available free by post which address the key financial issues affecting lone parents, as well as a few additional leaflets that you can read online, including ‘Budget 2001 - what it means to one-parent families’, ‘Sources of Financial Support’ and ‘Coping at Christmas’. Call their Maintenance and Money Line (freephone 0800 018 5026) for further information and guidance, particularly on the complex benefit system and Child Support Agency. There are a number of sources of financial assistance available if you are on a low income. For details on what is available from the Department of Social Security see the ‘Managing on a Low Income’ page, which includes details of Budgeting Loans and Social Fund Crisis Loans available in the case of a financial emergency. One Parent Families Scotland gives a list of trusts in Scotland and UK and details of how to apply for one-off grants. For example, you may be able to apply for money to buy something for the home that the DSS has been unable to provide funding for. The Government offers a number of ‘health’ benefits which are worth knowing about. If you are on Income Support you can claim free school meals, milk and vitamins. If you are pregnant, you are entitled to free prescriptions, help with costs of dental treatment and optical treatment and reimbursement for any related travel. Pick up form HC11 from the DSS, dentist, optician or hospital. Anyone receiving Working Families Tax Credit will also receive these benefits provided they meet the criteria. Contact your local Education Department about school clothing grants and other help, including subsidised childcare places. The OPFS ‘Money’ factsheet includes a comprehensive list of benefits available to lone parents in the UK, including those available to lone parents who are not working or working less than 16 hours a week: Up until July 1998 Child Benefit was available at a higher rate for lone parent families. This higher rate is now only paid to claimants who have been receiving benefits since before that date. It is worth contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau if you think you may be entitled or consulting their Advice Guide under ‘benefits’. ACCOMMODATIONIf you are facing the possibility of having to sell your house or looking at how to meet the costs of moving or a setting yourself up in new property, the OPFS factsheet on housing looks at the relevant issues. The Planet One Parent site offers advice on a range of property issues including suggestions about how to cut the cost of utilities bills. EXPECTING A BABY ALONEOur section on Maternity Rights and Benefits details the different benefits available according to your employment situation. If you are not working for the last 11 weeks of your pregnancy, you can claim Income Support. This will increase when the baby is born, provided you inform the Department of Social Security. The current rates for income support for lone parents and dependent children are given on the DSS site. Contact your local social security office for more information. The Maternity Alliance is an organisation providing information on maternity services and rights. Click on ‘Information’ for details. Telephone: 020 7588 8583. A of the information booklet ‘Single and Pregnant’ can be ordered directly from the One Parent Families website. OPFS has a useful page called On Your Own with a Baby which lists the important dates to remember if you intend to claim any maternity-related benefits.
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