Newsletter - Edition 4 April 2023

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter.

News and Updates

Resettlement Team News      

 

We are pleased to announce that we have just welcomed our two new Resettlement Practitioner Leads. They are :

Cate Whitehouse cate.whitehouse@staffordshire.gov.uk

Cate will cover Cannock Chase District, Newcastle, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands and South Staffordshire.

Lindsey Morris lindsey.morris@staffordshire.gov.uk

Lindsey covers East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth.

Please continue to use the Ukraine@staffordshire.gov.uk mailbox for general enquiries. Contact Cate or Lindsey if you have any particular concerns

We are due to welcome a team of Resettlement Practitoners during May. These new Practitioners will be out and about in your Districts and Boroughs following an induction period. 

More information will follow in the near future, regarding how this new team can support all guests and hosts.

Has your guest moved out?

  • Please let us know if your guests move out of your home, so we can keep our records up to date. This will include where guests move into private rented accommodation, move to another sponsor, move to another part of the UK or leave the country.
  • Would you like to be rematched to another Guest? Let us know.
  • Impact on Universal Credit / Thank You payments if guests leave the UK.

If families leave the UK and they are in receipt of Universal Credit, they need to notify the DWP regardless of the length of stay. If they are away for more than 4 consecutive weeks in a single period “thank you” payments will cease.

See Claiming benefits if you live, move or travel abroad: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for more information.

Money Matters £££

Help with budgeting tools.   

There are tools and calculators available that will help you quickly work out figures for some of the most common money situations you may find yourself in.

Easy to use calculators are available to help you budget, save and cut back on costs. Tools and information available to help you calculate benefits you may be entitled to claim, everyday household budgeting, savings, money troubles with debt advice and family and care related information.

See links below that you may find useful.

Tools and calculators | MoneyHelper

Reminder - Personalised Budgets Available

The Personalised Budget continues to be available to guests on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Each guest can claim up to £500 per person per year, covering the three-year period of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, giving a total of £1500 per person. If a guest has a request outside of the £500 per person per year, please still apply as all requests are considered on a case by case basis.

The criteria for applications to be considered is:

  • Supporting children with education/integration
  • Supporting adults with education or building skills
  • Supporting employment
  • Improving physical and/or mental health
  • Improving living standards 

Please contact ukraine@staffordshire.gov.uk for more information and support to apply.

 

English Language Learning – Digital Offer Reminder

As you will all probably be aware, there is a national shortage of ESOL (English for speakers of other Languages) provision. To address this issue, Staffordshire County Council has offered each guest registered on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme the opportunity to take part in *free* online language courses with two commissioned providers: Flash Academy and Klik2Learn.

Flash Academy offers a unique combination of lessons, games, and adaptive technology to help you learn English. The platform provides ‘whole family learning’ with both children and adults in a family learning from the same platform, this has been shown to improve engagement and progress.

The learning package includes:

  • Listening, speaking, writing, and reading challenges in a way that is fun and enjoyable for you.
  • Access in your home language.
  • Access to a fulltime Ukrainian speaking tutor.
  • Lessons containing interactive activities to introduce vocabulary to you and there are also interactive games to help you learn and retain this vocabulary.
  • An app that can be used on your smart phone, tablet or computer.

Klik2learn’s award-winning and accredited courses bring structured learning content to each guest’s mobile phones, expert tutors to fast-track their skills and reporting data to track their progress.

The learning package includes:

  • Assessment at the start and end of the program for all four language skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing
  • Journey 2 Basic Skills, a unique pre-beginner and elementary course covering literacy and numeracy skills. 80 hours of interactive activities.
  • Journey 2 English, an intermediate 80-hour course leading to a City & Guilds certificate and Digital Badge. 300 curated items covering life in the UK.
  • A simple grammar guide and Oxford learners’ dictionary
  • A suite of collaboration tools for tutor support
  • A month of intensive online tutoring from Klik2learn’s expert tutors, including Ukrainian ESOL tutors.

For more information or to register your interest in signing up for the free language courses please email the Homes for Ukraine Central Inbox -  ukraine@staffordshire.gov.uk .

If you require information regarding informal and formal classroom language learning opportunities in Staffordshire, please access Staffordshire Connects on the following link:

English Learning Opportunities - Homes for Ukraine | Staffordshire Connects

Employment and Business Start Ups

Employment contracts and your employee rights explained

If you’re working, it’s important to understand how your written or oral employment contract establishes the rights and responsibilities for both you and your employer.

Also information you may find useful about :

  • Understanding payslips
  • National minimum wage
  • Pay and benefits for temporary and agency workers
  • Understanding apprenticeships
  • Different types of employment status

Useful advice and information can be found in the link below.

Employment contracts and your employee rights | MoneyHelper

Find a Job: Homes for Ukraine

The Department of Levelling Up has lots of information available about where to find work, who can help and how to access skills-based training for employment.

See Find a job: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Staffordshire Jobs & Careers Brokerage Service continues to be available to all Ukrainians to support individuals into paid employment. Residents including all Ukrainians will be able to use the website to search for employment, apprenticeship, and training opportunities; view information on the region’s priority sectors including real time employment opportunities; and/or interact with a career directory that comes with information to help users better understand different job roles. Free 1 to 1 help and support from expert employment brokers is also available. Take a look at the link below.

SJC Digital Platform; Staffordshire Jobs & Careers (staffsjobscareers.com)

Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce Positive Pathways - see pdf attachment.

Health Matters

Need urgent medical help? Think 111 first!

Contact your NHS by visiting 111.nhs.uk  or by calling 111.

This will help to get you the right help more quickly:

  • Get help for symptoms and injuries.
  • Find out how you can look after yourself at home.
  • Dental advice
  • Info about precriptions and medicines
  • Get face to face appointments if needed

For more information -   Get help for your symptoms - NHS 111           

Also see link below for more information regarding support with health issues  Staffordshire Connects | Healthcare - Homes for Ukraine  

Families Health & Wellbeing Service (0-19) Annual Survey

The Families’ Health and Wellbeing Service (0-19) includes the health visiting service and the school nurse service. We would like your thoughts and feedback if you have used the service in the last year. See the link below https://forms.microsoft.com/e/XfNzRhcwSH  

“Watch this space” as we will be issuing another survey in the near future to get your feedback regarding what support Ukrainian guests and hosts need in relation to your own Emotional Health and Wellbeing.

District & Borough Spotlight

See PDF for news and information from AUGB in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Details of events are published on the Facebook page - The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain - Newcastle (Staffs) Branch | Facebook

Easter in Ukraine

See PDF attachment to read this page.

National News

New Emergency Alerts                                   

What are Emergency Alerts? Did you recently receive the test alert?

The new Emergency Alerts service will enable people to be contacted via their mobile phone if their lives are at risk in an emergency. The service will be used to warn you about life-threatening emergencies such as severe flooding. You should have received a national test of the UK Emergency Alert Service on Sunday 23rd April 2023.

What will the alert look and sound like?

An Emergency Alert looks and sounds very different to other types of messages such as SMS ‘text messages’. You’ll know if you get an Emergency Alert because you’ll hear a loud, siren-like sound and your phone will use a distinct vibration. A message will appear on your screen until you acknowledge it. For more information see the link below.

Staffordshire Connects | Emergency Alert Information/Informatsiya pro nadzvychayni sytuatsiyi

Government guides – updated in April 2023

Guides for sponsors including eligibility criteria, how to apply as a sponsor and advice about how to make your guests welcome in the UK.

Homes for Ukraine: sponsor guides - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Government guides for guests including  applying to the scheme, finding work, accessing benefits, education and health for children and adults.

Homes for Ukraine: Guidance for guests - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Contact us at the inbox…

Please remember, if you have any questions, please send us an email to the Homes for Ukraine inbox and also if you want to be added to our mailing list: ukraine@staffordshire.gov.uk

Ideas for future newsletter articles to be submitted on this form –

https://forms.office.com/e/Wr81mJnTSp

What do you need to receive information about?  We want to hear from you.

Please also remember that lots of information is always showing on Staffordshire Connects, including events.  Also, if you want a particular event promoted in this newsletter, let us know.  

Homes for Ukraine | Staffordshire Connects

Ukrainian and Russian versions can also be accessed on  Staffordshire Connects | Listings in Newsletters

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