Gingerbread North West Office – further info: 0161 636 7540
Services currently offered to single parents. In most cases childcare and travel costs are covered when appropriate
Training and development
Youth Contract
Youth Mentors provide support to NEET young parents aged 16-17 with a view to helping them to move into work, education or training. Support is also provided for 6 months after the young person progresses. Available in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire West. Young people must be NEET and have one or no GCSEs at C and above, or be the subject of a court order or released from custody or be in care or a care leaver.
Nu Traxx
Intensive support for 18-24 year old single parents on Job Seekers Allowance and Universal Credit. This is a voluntary scheme available to claimants between months 6 and 9 of their claim. They will receive 3 months of support with removing the barriers to work and looking for employment. Early entry is possible after 3 months claim at the discretion of JCP advisers, when we are able to work with participants for 6 months. If participants are not successful in finding work by the end of the programme they will be referred directly onto the Work Programme. Participants have a personalised budget which can be used to help move them nearer the job market, including purchasing training, clothes, equipment, and the Marks and Start course will be available at certain times and locations to Nu Traxx participants. Referral through Job Centre Plus advisers only (Greater Manchester)
Marks & Start
Three day pre-employment course followed by two week placement with Marks & Spencer, either in a store or in some cases in an admin office. The three day course covers the barriers single parents face in returning to work and ways of overcoming them, job applications and interviews, and looks at the skills required to work in retail and admin. During the placement, participants work through coaching cards and if they pass these they can be offered jobs if suitable vacancies are available. Open to all single parents on jobseeker’s allowance. There is a selection process in place. Only available when funding is available. Travel and childcare costs funded by Jobcentre Plus.
HMRC awareness
Gingerbread is working with HMRC to raise awareness of the services they offer and when and how to contact them. We provide courses for professionals and single parents to help them understand the services HMRC offers, such as tax credits and the transition to universal credits. We also train single parents and workers to become mentors to other single parents, to help when certain life events occur and they need to contact HMRC. Open to all single parents and those working with them.
NEET young parents (16-18 years and up to 25 for those with LLDD)
Gingerbread is running an accredited programme including confidence building and information sessions to help young parents decide upon their next steps. Support is provided with progression onto education employment or training. Courses running across Lancashire
Mind your money @ Gingerbread
A one day course in which participants learn about money management. . The course includes information about methods of budgeting and saving and other tips on making your money go further. Open to single parents who are tenants of social landlords across the City of Manchester.
Community
Membership – www.gingerbread.org.uk/membership
Single parents can become members of Gingerbread for free. Members receive a monthly e-newsletter with the latest advice, updates and campaigns news, access to our online forums and local groups and family-friendly special offers. Single parents without internet access can become members by post.
Gingerbread groups
We are able to provide support to single parents who wish to set up a Gingerbread group thanks to funding from Department for Education. We provide a toolkit for single parents to help them to set up a group, and a similar one for practitioners who are prepared to work with single parents interested in setting up a group.
Advice and information
Helpline 0808 802 0925
The Gingerbread Single Parent Helpline is a Freephone service staffed by expert advisers, who can give advice and information on money, benefits and tax credits, work and study, housing, family law and child maintenance. It is free to call from landlines and most mobiles. A translation service is also available for non-English speakers who want to use the service.
Factsheets
Gingerbread produces factsheets on a wide range of issues affecting single parents which can be downloaded from the website www.gingerbread.org.uk
Policy and campaigns
Issues affecting single parents include welfare and benefits, family law, employment, child maintenance and childcare. We engage with parliamentarians and do public campaigning to raise these issues in the media and with the general public.
One of our most recent campaigns aims to break down the barriers single parents face to work. Find out more and show you support at www.gingerbread.org.uk/makeitwork