Beacon Family Services

Beacon Family Services We help build relationships. Visit our website for info about how we help families with play therapy.

Let’s be real: if you’re a tired, stressed parent, ‘play more’ might sound like a chore. But what if play isn’t somethin...
20/06/2025

Let’s be real: if you’re a tired, stressed parent, ‘play more’ might sound like a chore. But what if play isn’t something extra? What if it’s something that actually makes everything else a bit easier?

Our Play Therapist Peppy Hills explores why play matters to every child in terms of their emotional development...
https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/10-reasons-why-play-matters-for-childrens-emotional-development/

Play is fun. It brings joy, relieves stress, and helps us feel like ourselves again. So no – play can never be a bad thing.

On top of being a fun way to ease stress, boost joy, and get the creative juices flowing, play has some significant benefits to your child’s development, too! Peppy shares ten ways in which play helps your child to flourish emotionally, along with a therapist’s insight into the how and why.

Parents and carers often say, “I’m doing everything I can but family life doesn't feel how I want it to.” Supporting a c...
19/06/2025

Parents and carers often say, “I’m doing everything I can but family life doesn't feel how I want it to.” Supporting a child with a tricky start in life isn’t easy, especially when traditional strategies fall flat.

If you’ve read the blogs, tried the sticker charts and whispered calm affirmations while dodging Lego and STILL there are meltdowns, shutdowns, or total chaos... we can help you explore Parenting with Theraplay® - it's a playful, practical approach rooted in connection (not perfection) for adoptive, fostering and kinship families.

We're delighted to present parents and commissioning professionals with our powerful new Parenting with Theraplay® course, running in September in Walsall and again in January in Sutton Coldfield! This programme brings together small groups of parents (including adoptive parents, foster carers and Special Guardians) to empower you with simple yet powerful and proven ways to help develop parent-child connection.

Guided by a qualified Theraplay® practitioner accredited by Theraplay UK, you will learn how to use therapeutic play at home to become more connected with your child. Theraplay® can help your child build their confidence and sense of self-value, helping your relationship strengthen over time.

Click the link to find out more!

https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/families/parenting-with-theraplay-parent-child-connection-group-programme-for-parents-and-carers/



https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/families/parenting-with-theraplay-parent-child-connection-group-programme-for-parents-and-carers/

“Nothing feels quite right for my child.”If you've said or thought this as an adoptive parent, special guardian, or care...
18/06/2025

“Nothing feels quite right for my child.”

If you've said or thought this as an adoptive parent, special guardian, or carer - or if you're a professional and have heard this from parents and carers who’ve tried everything and still feel stuck - our Just Right State Parent Programme is different.

It focuses on sensory support and co-regulation, helping parents understand and meet their own and their child’s needs in a way that finally feels just right.

We're delighted to share that we have autumn spaces available for our Just Right State Programme for adoptive parents, special guardians and carers!

The Just Right State Programme starts in October and is comprised of 6 hybrid sessions (4 online, 2 in Sutton Coldfield), with 12 places available. In a safe small group setting, therapists help adoptive parents, special guardians and foster carers understand their child’s sensory and emotional needs utilising the developmental and emotional attachment principles and activities of The Scared Gang books — so they can support their child to feel just right.

Over 6 sessions, those attending will explore engaging activities based on The Scared Gang books, personalised strategies, and gain insight from conversations with experienced therapists. You'll come away with practical tools to support both your child’s wellbeing and your own.

If you're a professional seeking therapeutic solutions for adoptive, foster and kinship families in your care, we'd love to hear from you!

Please spread the word, and book your place (or commission one for a family in your care) via the link:

https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/families/parenting-with-theraplay-parent-child-connection-group-programme-for-parents-and-carers/

Refugee Week 2025 is here, and this year's theme of “Community as a Superpower” resonates deeply with our values and wor...
16/06/2025

Refugee Week 2025 is here, and this year's theme of “Community as a Superpower” resonates deeply with our values and work to support families through therapeutic relational play: https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/refugee-week-2025-community-is-a-superpower-project-salam/

Peppy Hills, our lead on Project Salam, explores how community is core to our work supporting refugee families in Birmingham through Theraplay® group events in safe environments that help parents connect not only with their children, but also with each other.

Read Peppy's blog and see ways to get involved as a parent, carer, professional or organisation.

If you're based in the and looking forward to taking part in Refugee Week, you are warmly welcome to join us on Saturday 21 June when we'll be celebrating at Midlands Arts Centre - MAC along with partner organisations, refugee families and children. Join us!


We've had a great day with Heidi Fisher MBE as our Beacon Family Services and lumin&us teams explored how we share our ...
06/06/2025

We've had a great day with Heidi Fisher MBE as our Beacon Family Services and lumin&us teams explored how we share our impactful work with families. As you can see from the photos, it led to so many big thoughts and wonderful conversations!

As we ready ourselves to launch our annual impact report for 2024, you are all warmly welcome to see how we helped families in 2023 - https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/funders/

We've had a wonderful afternoon in Sutton Coldfield exploring how our work could help more families in and around Birmin...
03/06/2025

We've had a wonderful afternoon in Sutton Coldfield exploring how our work could help more families in and around Birmingham and beyond. We've been talking about why we do what we do and how we can share our impactful work with others. Thank you Mo Bury for getting us thinking today.

How is everyone doing with the bank holiday spilling over into half-term break? Time off doesn't have to be perfect, ju...
30/05/2025

How is everyone doing with the bank holiday spilling over into half-term break? Time off doesn't have to be perfect, just as a parent doesn't have to be a perfect parent! For many, any time off may have been a mixed bag, like the weather. Holidays can be a welcome chance to enjoy time as a family, yet they bring their own challenges.

This week we are bringing our whole selves to work to support families with 1-2-1 sessions, events, and structured programmes. If you've been aiming for perfection over this last week and not achieving it, this blog from Charlotte Jenkins might help: https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/the-good-enough-parent/

In every session of the Just Right State Programme, we support parents and carers to explore practical sensory strategie...
28/05/2025

In every session of the Just Right State Programme, we support parents and carers to explore practical sensory strategies that help soothe their own nervous systems and enrich the home environment.

Sensory regulation for caregivers is a vital part of therapeutic work — not just to support the child, but to sustain the well-being of those around them. These strategies are woven throughout the programme to ensure that both children and the adults who care for them are supported.

The parental feedback has been so uplifting:

"Because of the last 8 years of parenting a child impacted by trauma I am dysregulated. Because of these sessions I am now able to stay calm with the behaviour. That is making a huge difference to our relationships."

"Listening to you has given me insight I couldn't have got before into how sensory processing is for our children and how hard it can be. That will help me so much."

We know our therapeutic support makes a difference, and funding is vital to enable us to continue to provide and expand on the support we can offer.

Our support packages are delivered out by highly trained and clinically-supervised professionals trained in Theraplay®️, DDP, and Sensory Attachment Intervention. We tailor our support to the specific needs of your family for the best results.

Adoptive / kinship / fostering families and professionals wishing to learn more about our tailored support can click here:

https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/therapeutic-support-adoptive-parents-families/

You can find out more about the Just Right State Programme for Adoptive Families, Foster Carers and Special Guardians here:

https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/just-right-state-programme-support-for-adoptive-families/

We all know that anxiety in children is skyrocketing. Behind every anxious child (diagnosed or otherwsie) is a parent, c...
13/05/2025

We all know that anxiety in children is skyrocketing. Behind every anxious child (diagnosed or otherwsie) is a parent, carer, educator or trusted adult who is doing everything they can to spot the signs and help the child develop in a safe and supporting environment when that child doesn't respond to traditional approaches.

Our parents guide outlines some of the therapeutic approach and practice we share with parents and professionals. We hope our guide is of help to parents out there who are wondering what else they can say or do to support their child:
https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/a-parents-guide-to-supporting-your-childs-anxiety-and-nurturing-connection/

Our founder and director was in London today marching with adoptive and kinship families to raise her concern at the lac...
03/05/2025

Our founder and director was in London today marching with adoptive and kinship families to raise her concern at the lack of consultation from the Department for Education around changes to the ASGSF.

This is the start of a long campaign so watch out for emails from us about how as an organisation we raise your concerns with MPs across the West Midlands.

We understand that supporting you to care for your children is about sharing your investment in our community.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Abiim1UVh/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Action against ASGSF changes

What's that you can see outside? Is it the sun 🌞? Now is a perfect time to grow a sunflower 🌻as a shared family activity...
25/04/2025

What's that you can see outside? Is it the sun 🌞? Now is a perfect time to grow a sunflower 🌻as a shared family activity with your child!

There are so many ways to carry out this kid-friendly gardening activity. You can grow a sunflower for each family member, and decide whether family members water their own sunflower, or treat it as a shared activity where you can support your child with the watering - or they can direct you to do the watering, creating a sense of routine with visible growth in your lovely sunflower over time. Sometimes families carry out sunflower races to see who can grow the tallest, but there is no need to introduce a competitive element into these outdoor-based moments of togetherness as you work together to help your sunflower(s) grow.

Growing a sunflower is easy - just pick a sunny spot, if you have one, and grow them at least 10cm apart in any kind of soil. Growing a sunflower from seed has sensory elements - it can feel good to get your fingers in the soil - and plenty of opportunities for connection. It can help to teach your child patience, too. It takes around 120 days for a sunflower to mature, so a tiny seed planted now should become a tall and majestic sunflower in August!

We have somemore ideas for outdoor play for connection here - https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/outdoor-play-for-connection-between-parent-and-child/

Address

Birmingham

Telephone

+441212700590

Website

https://www.beaconservices.org.uk/

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