Our Child Home Safety Advice and Equipment Service gives safety tips and helps prevent fires for families in East Sussex. We can come to your home and give advice to keep your family safe.
We also give free safety equipment to families with children under 5 who get certain benefits because of their income. This equipment can include stair gates, safety barriers, bath mats, cupboard locks, and fireguards.
If you want to use this service, please talk to your Health Visitor, Early Help Keyworker, Community Nursery Nurse, or Social Worker for more info.
If you don't know any of these professionals, you can contact us directly to learn more.
Apply for FREE child safety advice and equipment
Who can apply for free home safety equipment?
If you live in East Sussex and have a child under 5 years of age and receive one the of the following benefits you may be eligible for free home safety equipment:
- Universal Credit
- Child or Working Tax Credit
- NHS Exemption card
- Income Support
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax benefit
- Disability Living Allowance for a child (not an adult)
Some equipment, such as safety barriers, is only recommended for families with children under 2 years of age.
This service is funded in partnership with East Sussex Public Health.
If you live in Brighton & Hove please refer to Safetynet to see if you are eligible for child safety equipment – contact details below.
Sadly in 2020/21, the rate of hospital admissions for childhood accidents aged 0-4 years in East Sussex was significantly higher than the England average.
- on average nine children under 5 attended an East Sussex A&E every month due to a fall involving stairs
- on average ten children under 5 attended an East Sussex A&E every month due to a burn or scald
- on average 41 children under 5 attended an East Sussex A&E every month due to a fall involving a bed, sofa or other furniture
- on average 10 children under 5 attended an East Sussex A&E every month due to an accidental poisoning involving a cleaning product or medicine
For more information on accident prevention, please go to;
Families living in Brighton and Hove contact safetynet to see if you are eligible:
Email homesafety@safety-net.org.uk
or call us directly on 01273 41161
We promote the ICON programme, supporting people who care for babies.
We know that it can be really challenging to care for babies, and this can be even more difficult during times of financial hardship, stress and isolation. COVID has brought all of those things to many families’ front doors.
‘ICON: Babies cry, you can cope’ is a programme designed to help parents cope with a crying baby, which we know can be a trigger for a parent/carer to lose control and shake their baby potentially causing brain injury, blindness, bony injuries and sometimes even fatal injuries.
ICON is all about helping people who care for babies to cope with crying.
ICON stands for:
I – Infant crying is normal
C –Comforting methods can help
O – It’s OK to walk away
N – Never, ever shake a baby
Remind parents to speak to someone if they need support, such as their family, friends, Midwife, GP or Health Visitor.
Suggestions for comfort methods include:
- Stroke your baby gently. Try placing your baby against you and try stroking their back rhythmically
- If you can, go outside with your baby, and walk them in a pram or in a baby sling. The rocking motion can be very soothing for a baby. If you can’t go outside try a gentle rocking motion while walking inside.
- Hum or sing to your baby. Let them hear a repeating, constant and soothing sound. Music can sometimes soothe some babies.
- Sucking can help relieve a baby’s distress. If offering the breast is not possible, a dummy can soothe a baby and can be given from 4 weeks onward for babies where breastfeeding is established, or at any time if the baby is formula fed
- Try giving them a warm bath.
Not all of these will work all of the time but remember, that’s OK. Stay calm, this phase will pass
For more information go to : https://iconcope.org/about-icon/
All babies are different, but many start to cry less after around 8 weeks.
