Children and Families

 

Helping Children and Families Thrive

 

Every child deserves the opportunity to feel safe, valued and able to reach their full potential. At Jigsaw, we provide compassionate, trauma-informed support for children, young people and families across Gloucestershire who may be experiencing emotional, behavioural, mental health or wider challenges.

 

From early intervention through to more complex therapeutic support, we work alongside children, young people and families to build confidence, resilience, strengthen relationships and improve emotional wellbeing.

 

Our approach is centred on one simple belief:

 

When children feel understood, families become stronger and communities thrive.

 

How We Support Children and Families

 

 

No two people or families are the same. That's why we work with each person to understand their circumstances, strengths, needs and goals and aspirations to create a personalised support plan.

 

Our support can include therapeutic, emotional, practical and family support, depending on the needs of each child, young person or family. 

 

We provide:

 

 

Therapeutic Support

 

 

We provide compassionate, person-centred therapeutic support for children, young people and parents. Our support helps people understand their experiences, develop coping strategies and improve their emotional wellbeing.

 

Our therapeutic support can help children, young people and families with healing, acceptance, emotional regulation and developing healthy coping strategies.

 

Depending on individual needs, therapeutic support may include:

 

  • Individual emotional support for children, young people and parents
  • Trauma-informed and trauma-focused therapeutic support
  • Counselling and emotional support
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Play, storybook and creative therapies
  • Pet therapy
  • Emotional regulation and coping strategies
  • Parent and family therapeutic support

  • Psychoeducation to help children, young people and families understand emotions, behaviour, distress and mental health.

 

Jigsaw's therapeutic support is tailored to each person's circumstances, strengths and goals, helping children, young people and adults feel safer, calmer and build confidence while developing healthier coping strategies.

 

Neurodiversity Support

 

 

We provide neurodiversity-affirming support for children, young people and families, including support around ADHD, autism and PDA.

 

We help families understand individual needs, reduce distress and develop practical strategies that support emotional wellbeing, communication and everyday life.

 

Our approach recognises and values different ways of thinking, communicating and experiencing the world.

 

Family Support

 

 

Families don't have to navigate difficult times alone. We provide practical, emotional and wellbeing support that helps families build confidence, strengthen relationships and manage everyday challenges.

 

Families often tell us they simply need someone who listens, understands and helps them navigate difficult situations. 

 

Our practical and emotional support is always tailored to each family's circumstances and needs.

 

 

We support families by:

  • Building confidence and resilience

  • Strengthening family relationships

  • Helping parents understand behaviour and emotional distress

  • Supporting routines, wellbeing and daily life

  • Offering practical advice and emotional support

  • Mentoring and early intervention to help young people build confidence, skills and resilience.

  • Wellbeing assessments to help understand individual needs and identify appropriate support

  • Sensory and wellbeing resources tailored to individual needs

  • Community-based activities

  • Support with rebuilding daily routines

 

For young people who need additional educational support, we also provide tutoring and mentoring.

 

Holistic Wellbeing and Daily-Life Support

 

 

Mental health and wellbeing are closely connected to everyday life.

 

We can support children, young people and families with:

 

  • Building healthy routines and improving daily wellbeing
  • Sleep, self-care, nutrition and other practical wellbeing strategies
  • Managing anxiety, overwhelm and emotional shutdown
  • Developing emotional regulation and coping skills
  • Building confidence, recognising strengths and developing independence
  • Practical problem-solving to help improve stability and reduce situations that can lead to crisis

 

Support During Difficult or Crisis Situations

 

 

When distress or risk increases, we provide calm, responsive support that helps people stay safer, reduce risk and prevent situations from escalating.

 

This may include:

  • Rapid response support

  • Collaborative safety planning

  • Liaison with NHS crisis teams, CAMHS, GPs, schools, social care and safeguarding services

  • Increased support during high-risk periods

  • Practical help to improve stability

  • Harm-reduction strategies to help young people and families stay safer during periods of distress or increased risk.

 

Advocacy and Practical Help

 

 

Many families tell us that navigating services can feel overwhelming particularly when families are dealing with several challenges at the same time.

 

We can help families understand available services, navigate challenges, communicate with professionals and identify sources of practical support.

 

Our team can help families with:

  • Understanding available services

  • Attending important appointments

  • Working alongside schools and professionals

  • Accessing housing, benefits, financial and community support

  • Ensuring families' voices are heard during multi-agency meetings

  • Support with legal processes and court reports, where appropriate.

 

Who We Support

 

 

We work with:

  • Children aged 4 and over

  • Young people experiencing emotional or mental health difficulties

  • Neurodiverse children and young people

  • Parents and carers needing emotional or practical support

  • Families experiencing trauma, adversity or crisis

  • Adults requiring therapeutic or family support

 

We support people experiencing:

  • Anxiety and excessive worry

  • Low mood and depression

  • Trauma

  • Emotional dysregulation and difficulties managing emotions

  • Anger

  • School-related anxiety and emotionally based school non-attendance

  • Self-harm

  • Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

  • Complex trauma (CPTSD)

  • Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

  • Family stress and relationship difficulties

  • Neurodiversity-related challenges

 

Supporting People Through Local Family Hubs

 

Jigsaw is proud to work alongside Gloucestershire's Family Hubs, helping children, young people and families access support within their local communities.

 

By delivering services in trusted and welcoming environments, we can offer earlier intervention, reduce barriers to accessing help, and provide support before challenges become more complex.

 

Our trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming approach ensures every child and family is listened to, understood and supported according to their individual needs.

 

Working closely with Family Hubs, schools, health professionals and community organisations allows us to provide joined-up support that is responsive, accessible and centred around the needs of the whole family. Whether you need emotional wellbeing support, therapeutic intervention, parenting guidance or help accessing other services, we're here to help you find the right support.

 

If you're looking for your nearest Family Hub, you can use the link below to find your local hub and learn more about the services available in your area.

 

A Different Approach

 

Families often come to us after feeling passed between services and feeling overwhelmed, unsure where to turn or uncertain about what support they need.

 

Our practitioners take time to build trusted relationships because we know that meaningful change happens when people feel safe, listened to and understood.

 

Our support is:

  • Trauma-informed

  • Neurodiversity-affirming

  • Person-centred

  • Strengths-based

  • Relationship-based

  • Flexible

  • Community-based

 

Working Together

 

 

We work closely with schools, Family Hubs, GPs, CAMHS, social care and community organisations to ensure children, young people and families receive coordinated support as early as possible.

 

Working together in our integrated approach can help identify needs earlier, reduce barriers to accessing support and provide a more joined-up approach around the child or family that prevents problems from escalating into crisis.

 

The Difference We Make

 

 

Our work is focused on helping children, young people and families make positive changes in their lives.

 

Our work helps people to:

  • Improve emotional wellbeing

  • Build resilience and confidence

  • Strengthen family relationships

  • Improve engagement with education

  • Reduce crisis situations

  • Feel heard, supported and empowered

  • Develop healthier coping strategies

  • Develop greater confidence and independence

 

We monitor the impact of our work using appropriate outcome measures alongside feedback from the people we support. This helps us understand what is working, identify areas for improvement and continue developing our services.

 

More than 90% of families tell us that, following support from Jigsaw, they feel listened to, supported and better able to manage future challenges.

 

Why Families Choose Jigsaw

 

 

Families choose Jigsaw because our support is:

 

  • Trauma-informed. We seek to understand what may be behind distress and behaviour and consider the impact of people's experiences.

  • Neurodiversity-affirming. We recognise and value different ways of thinking, communicating and experiencing the world.

  • Person-centred. Our support is shaped around each child, young person and family's individual needs and strengths.

  • Flexible and responsive.  We adapt our support as circumstances and needs change.

  • Community-based.  We make support accessible within familiar local settings wherever possible.

  • Whole-family focused. We recognise that supporting a child often means supporting the people around them too.

  • Relationship-based. We take time to build trust and provide consistent, supportive relationships.

  • Focused on early intervention. We aim to provide support before difficulties escalate.

  • Accessible with shorter waiting times. We aim to make support accessible as early as possible, helping families get the right support before difficulties become more difficult to manage.

  • Friendly and understanding staff.

 

What Families Say About Jigsaw

 

 

"Parents trust Jigsaw. Their support has rebuilt confidence and reduced crisis situations."

 

"Parents tell us they feel safe with Jigsaw. The team are approachable, non-judgemental and brilliant at building trust."

 

How Support Starts

 

 

Getting support doesn't have to feel complicated.

 

We'll listen to what's happening, understand what you and your family need, and talk through the most appropriate support with you. Where possible, we'll provide a consistent point of contact and work with you to develop a personalised support plan.

 

If you would like support, please contact us either via our contact form or by phone on 07999 100660 or by email at hello@jigsawco-op.org.uk.