Sandwell Council

Sandwell Family Information Service offers free, impartial information to families with children aged 0 to 19 years (or up to 25 years with a special educational need or disability), young people and professionals. We are the principal service for information to parents/carers for the Local Authority (LA) Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council What we do We support Sandwell Council's Vision 2030 Ambition 4 Best Start in Life. We are an early help service and our information helps families to find childcare and local support services. The Family Services Directory includes information on children’s centres, money and benefits, education, health and wellbeing as well as local activities and things to do. We also manage and maintain the Children and Young Adults with Disabilities/Special Educational Needs Register. Statutory Duty Local authorities are bound by statute. Their functions are set out in Acts of Parliament and many of these functions have associated legal duties. 'Statutory' means duties and functions that a council must perform, provide or do. Councils rely on their different teams and services to deliver specific duties, and together, meet all their statutory duties. Find out more on statutory duties placed on local government Sandwell Family Information Service delivers these statutory duties for Sandwell Council: CHILDREN ACT 1989 - SCHEDULE 2 CHILDCARE ACT 2006 - SECTION 6 CHILDCARE ACT 2006 - SECTION 12 CHILDCARE ACT 2016 - SECTION 5 What we offer We provide information on a range of topics relating to family life including: Childcare all Ofsted registered childcare providers in Sandwell Free funding for 2, 3 and 4 year olds 15 and 30 hours Children’s Centres How to become a childminder Family Services including health and wellbeing, money and benefits, education, leisure and family support Things to Do - including school holiday activities, camps and courses Parent/carer advice and support including one to one brokerage