Say yes to the dress as local charity opens city centre  wedding store!

Say yes to the dress as local charity opens city centre wedding store!

Specialist palliative and bereavement support provider, Compton Care, is opening a wedding
and occasion wear store in Wolverhampton city centre next week.
Located next to Matalan in the city’s popular Mander Centre, the store opens its doors at
10am on Thursday 10 October and will offer a range of beautiful, pre-loved wedding
dresses, occasion wear, accessories and party dresses.
No dress is complete without the perfect shoes and accessories, so there is a fantastic
range to choose from. There are also outfits for the groom, the bridesmaids, the moms and
the wider bridal party. Brides-to-be who want to take their time to find the perfect dress and
have their friends and family with them will be able to book appointments to have the store
exclusively to themselves.
From Thursday 10 October, the store will be open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 5pm,
Sunday 10am – 4pm and proceeds raised will contribute to the specialist palliative and end of
life care the charity provides to people in the local community and support for their loved
ones.
Every year, Compton Care supports patients in Wolverhampton through its range of
specialist services, including clinical care on its Inpatient Unit. It also supports patients in the
community, providing specialist care in the place they call home. Patients can also access
the Living Well Service which provides emotional and practical tools to help them continue
living active, independent lives. Patients’ families also have access to the charity’s services
and specialist bereavement support.
For more information about the charity’s range of services visit comptoncare.org.uk. For
more information about volunteering opportunities visit comptoncare.org.uk/volunteer24 or
call 0300 323 0250.

Rediscover yourself this Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week

Rediscover yourself this Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week

Today marks the start of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week – an annual campaign to encourage people to talk about their mental health before, during and after pregnancy.

Around one in five women experience a mental health problem during pregnancy or within the early postnatal years.

The national campaign, organised by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, aims to encourage people to access the information and help they require to enable recovery. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Rediscovering you’.

Bal Kaur, Consultant in Public Health with the City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Being pregnant or becoming a new parent is a milestone event in life. It is natural for new parents to feel a lot of different emotions during this time.

“But if you’re feeling low and it’s starting to affect your life, there are a range of things you can do that may help, so please don’t suffer in silence.”

Across the city, there are a lot of resources available to help support the emotional wellbeing of expectant and new parents and help you to rediscover yourself during this life-changing time.

The city’s Family Hubs and libraries deliver a range of activities that support parental and infant wellbeing, including Stay and Play groups and Baby Booktime sessions to boost the bond with your baby.

The council’s Parental and Infant Wellbeing Team deliver activities that focus on parent and infant relationships, including Bop Around Bantock, a babywearing walk in Bantock Park every Tuesday, and StepAhead, a community wellbeing drop-in group in the Children’s Library at Central Library every Wednesday.

People are encouraged to speak to their midwife, health visitor or visit their local Family Hub if they are feeling low. They can provide advice and information about local groups and specialist services that can support people’s health and wellbeing.

For more information on good mental health during pregnancy, visit the NHS website at www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/mental-health/.

Team on hunt for new foster parents this Easter

Team on hunt for new foster parents this Easter

The Fostering for Wolverhampton team is on the hunt for new foster parents this Easter.

The City of Wolverhampton Council’s fostering service is inviting people to find out more about this rewarding career, including the support and financial benefits on offer to people who foster.

The council’s Director of Children’s Services Alison Hinds said: “Fostering can truly be a life-changing experience, both for foster parents and the children and young people they care for.

“With currently over 200 fantastic fostering households, we are very lucky to have so many dedicated foster parents here in our city – but we have more children who need a foster home.

“We’ve love to hear from people who have both a spare room and, most importantly, love in their heart to offer the most vulnerable children and young people in our city a family home.

“I’d encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a foster parent to visit www.fosteringforwolverhampton.com, follow Fostering for Wolverhampton on Facebook at fosteringforwolves or call the team on 01902 551133 to find out more about this life-changing opportunity.”

Meanwhile, children and their foster families came together for the annual Easter Egg-stravaganza last week.

Organised by the Fostering for Wolverhampton team, it took place at WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams and featured an Easter trail and an appearance by the Easter Bunny, the Wolves play café, face painting, a disco and a variety of sports and art activities.

More than 100 people attended the event, just one of the many social activities organised throughout the year for foster families who are part of Fostering for Wolverhampton.

Alison added: “It was a real pleasure that so many foster families were able to come together to celebrate Easter with the children and young people they care for. “This was one example of the many events we hold for our foster parents, who do such an excellent job of looking after children in care.”

Health monitors installed at libraries and community sites

Health monitors have been installed in a number of libraries, community facilities and leisure centres across Wolverhampton.

They give residents the chance to accurately measure their height, weight, BMI (body mass index), heart rate and blood pressure. No appointment is necessary and the checks are free, self-service and confidential, with results printed on a slip of paper for users to take away with them.

The health monitors are available at Central, Bilston, Warstones and Wednesfield libraries, the Bob Jones Community Hub, WV Active Aldersley, WV Active Central and WV Active Bilston Bert-Williams, and offer a valuable alternative to attending medical settings for low level and non-clinical interventions.

Staff at the various locations will not be able to provide clinical advice, but will be able to signpost residents to relevant information and advice.

Where appropriate, blood pressure monitors are also available to loan to enable people to monitor their blood pressure for free at home.

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for our residents to take control of their own health and wellbeing, and this is one of the ways that we are giving them access to the tools they need to do just that.

“It is hoped these devices will encourage residents to prioritise getting their blood pressure checked, even if they have no apparent symptoms, as high blood pressure can lead to serious health issues like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and vascular dementia if left unchecked.”

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, Cabinet Member for Visitor City, added: “Our libraries, leisure centres and community facilities offer a wide range of services and facilities to residents, and we are delighted to have been able to expand it further with the introduction of these health monitors.

“They are free to use, and we hope they will prove popular with, and also useful to, customers.”

Showing off some of the health monitoring equipment available at Central Library are Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Visitor City, Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, and Robert Johnson, Head of Community Information.

Major £9.7million investment set to improve Wolverhampton’s road network

Major £9.7million investment set to improve Wolverhampton’s road network

Nearly £10million is set to be invested in extensive works to improve, maintain and repair Wolverhampton’s highways during the coming year.

Included in this cash boost is a dedicated fund of £500,000 which has been set aside to tackle potholes affecting the city’s roads.

This additional dedicated funding will support the city’s existing pothole budget and ensure repairs are carried out within the council’s set timeframes.

Potholes are a priority for the council to manage, and over the past year more than 6,800 have been repaired on routes across the city.

In total, during the past decade, more than 53,000 pothole repairs have been made in Wolverhampton, with 94% of potholes in the city dealt with within the set deadlines.

Other proposed highway improvements planned for 2024/25 include major maintenance and resurfacing schemes across the city, road safety and traffic management work, upgrading the council’s car park management system, street lighting improvements and the delivery of further Safer Routes to Schools programmes.

There will be improvements to ring road and city centre signage as well as structural reviews and works on a number of city bridges. In addition, there will be the completion of the council’s programme to convert older streetlights to LEDs to reduce carbon emissions. More than 24,550 streetlights have already been converted.

The council will carry out the work under the next phase of its Highway Capital Programme, which has a total budget of £9.7million. Funding for the programme has come through external grants and council resources.

Councillor Craig Collingswood, cabinet member for environment and climate change at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “This is a major investment in our transport network and shows our commitment to providing a smooth and seamless journey through our city. We know that the condition and safety of our roads really matters to our residents, and it matters to us too. This is why we’re making the most of all available funding by ensuring this additional £500,000 helps to tackle potholes, a problem which affects roads both here in Wolverhampton and all across the country.

The planned improvements are pending approval and will be discussed at City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 20 March.

New childcare recruits in city to be offered £1,000 sign-on bonuses

New childcare recruits in city to be offered £1,000 sign-on bonuses

The City of Wolverhampton Council has been chosen to take part in a pilot scheme offering £1,000 tax-free payments for those starting childcare jobs.

The ‘Do Something Big’ recruitment campaign has been launched by the Department for Education.

As part of the campaign a trial initiative – covering 20 local authorities including Wolverhampton – will see new-starters and those returning to childcare roles given a cash bonus payment shortly after they take up post.

It aims to help ensure nurseries and early years providers have the staff required to offer more childcare places for parents.

The move comes ahead of April when eligible working parents of two-year-olds will get 15 funded hours on top of existing childcare provision –­­ ultimately putting more money in parents’ pockets at the end of the month.

The rollout is set to save working parents using the full 30-hour entitlements up to £6,500 a year.

Councillor Chris Burden, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We welcome the opportunity to take part in this national pilot scheme.“The recruitment drive will help support our efforts to ensure nurseries and early years providers have the workers they need to be able to offer more childcare places for parents as provision is expanded.

“This will allow more parents to stay in work, supporting the local economy in the knowledge their children are receiving good childcare, laying the foundations for them to achieve their full potential.”

The campaign will look to boost recruitment across the sector by highlighting the array of childcare career routes and progression opportunities offering on-the-job training and flexible hours.