Information for Parents and Young people

We support children and young people to achieve their individual goals, socialise with their peers, have fun, try new things and feel included.

We do this in small groups of eight children. Each group has two Group Leaders who are there to support your child. We also have some Volunteers. All Group Leaders and Volunteers have been vetted via the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme through Disclosure Scotland.
Groups are determined by age, we have groups for children aged 8 to 11 years old and groups for young people aged 12 to 16 years old.

We usually have a waiting list, so your child may not be able to start attending straight away.

Groups run on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening from 5 pm to 7 pm. The day your child attends is determined by their age and when a space becomes available. Our groups run during the school term and we have some less frequent groups during the Easter and Summer school holidays. Your child should attend each week, if they cannot attend for any reason please let us know in advance.

We are based at 12 Halbeath Road, Dunfermline, close to the football stadium. There are some buses which run along Halbeath Road including the No. 19 and No 89. Children are usually brought by their parents or carers, if it’s difficult to bring your child please let us know as we run a small taxi collection and drop off service.

All the children and young people have something to eat together with their Group Leaders after they arrive, then do an activity before having some free time to play, relax and catch up with each other before they go home.

We do lots of different activities at SEAL each week. The children and young people decide together with the Group Leaders what kind of activities they do each term. Some of the activities include arts and crafts, baking, playing board games and doing fun experiments. We also take children on outings to places such as the cinema or bowling.

We all need help and support sometimes. The children and young people who attend our groups have been referred to SEAL by someone who cares about them like their teacher, parent or carer or social worker. Some of the children who attend may be neurodivergent, have additional learning needs, have poor mental health or be socially isolated or anxious. The children and young people who come to SEAL receive help and support from their Group Leaders and the other children who attend with

·       Making new friends
·       Feeling more confident
·       Getting out and about
·       Feeling included
·       Feeling happy in themselves

Spending time with other children and young people in a supportive group setting  helps your child feel part of something and develops their resilience and coping strategies.

We know that going somewhere new can make some children and young people feel a little anxious so we ask children to come for a visit with their parent or carer first. They can ask us any questions they might have and have a look around. Attendance is voluntary. We find that children become more confident about attending after a couple of weeks.

It’s hard to be exact, some children and young people attend SEAL for a year or so, others for a shorter time and some for a longer time. Each child who comes to SEAL has a ‘goal’. The goal may be ‘being socially active’ for example. Once your child has achieved their goal and is ready to move on we will talk to you about when your child will stop attending. We can help with getting your child involved in local community groups and interests before finish at SEAL

We hope your child enjoys coming to SEAL, has fun and makes lots of new friends!

We support children and young people aged 8 years old to 16 years old in small groups of eight children to feel more confident, make new friends and try new things. Each group has two group leaders and a volunteer who are there to help you.

Our groups are held after school on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, start at 5pm and finish at 7pm, you will attend one day a week. We’ll tell you which day you’ll come. Our groups run during the school term.

We are at 12 Halbeath Road, Dunfermline close to the football stadium. Your mum. dad or carer will bring you to SEAL. Some children come by taxi which we organise for children who can’t manage to get here.

All children and young people have something to eat when they first arrive and catch up with each other and their group leaders then do an activity together before having some free time to play games before going home. We do lots of different things like arts and crafts, fun experiments, baking, movie nights, board games and sometimes go on an outing to bowling, the cinema or adventure park. The children and group leaders decide together what activities they’ll do each term.

Lots of amazing children like you! We all need help sometimes and the children who attend SEAL have been referred by someone who cares about them like their parents or carer, a teacher or social worker. Some children need help and support with getting out and about, making new friends, feeling more confident or with things like anxiety, autism or ADHD. The group leaders are there to help support you. Spending time with other children and young people your age can really help you have fun, feel relaxed, feel included and feel happy.

We know starting something new might make you feel a bit worried so we ask children and young people to come for a visit first with your parent or carer to meet the group leaders, have a look around and ask any questions. No one will make you come to SEAL if you don’t want to, we hope you will come for a visit first and try it out before you decide.

It’s hard to be exact, some children and young people attend SEAL for around six months, others stay for about a year or maybe longer. It all depends on how you get on and when you feel ready to leave SEAL. We will have a chat with you and your parents or carers to agree when you finish.