Choice Wellbeing Service CIC

22/01/2026

🌈 SAVE THE DATE! 🌈

We are hosting Rainbow Guide Live, a totally free SEND Family Fun Day for all of the family!

Join us on Thursday 16th April, 10am - 2pm, at the Beacon of Light. Absolutely no need to book, stay all day or drop in and out!

So far we've got:

✨Petting Zoo
✨Circus activities
✨Accessible sport activities
✨Small lap animals
✨Under the sea sensory space
✨Bouncy Castles
✨Information stalls
✨Story Time
✨Carnival Hair Braids
✨Fire Engines
✨Ambulance
✨Face painting and glitter tattoos
✨Crafts
And we have so much more to come!

We can't wait to see you all there!

Siblings welcomed!

Also: If there any activities or people you'd like to see at the fun day for your children, let us know and we'll see what we can do!

🌈 Team CWS

22/01/2026

Parent/Carer Get Together, Tuesdays 10.30am - 12.00pm at The Rainbow Hub, Washington. If you haven't seen us for a while, are currently accessing support, or even if your new to Choice.

21/01/2026

Don't forget, our app is available to download now!

with over 150 organisations on there, there is something for everyone!

Team CWS 💚

20/01/2026

Do you know any budding artists between 16-25 that would be interested in having their work showcased at an exhibition?

For anyone who is deaf, disabled or neurodivergent, Sunderland Culture is hosting an art exhibition and you can have the chance to submit your work!

See the post below for more details!

‼️Final call for deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent young artists aged 16-25‼️

Deadline: Friday 23rd January, 4pm

Highlights: Disability Arts Exhibition celebrates the creativity, imagination and expression of deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent young artists aged 16-25. Every submitted work will have the opportunity to be shown digitally, providing a platform for all artists to showcase their abilities.

The theme for the exhibition is ‘Challenges, Celebrations and Connections’. Artists are invited to interpret this theme in any way that is meaningful to them.

Closes: Friday 23 January, 4pm

For more information and to submit your work, visit: bit.ly/highlights2026

Highlights: Disability Arts Exhibition 2026 is part of the Autonomy project. The Autonomy project is generously supported by the Association of Independent Museums' Connected Communities programme, which is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Know Your Neighbourhood Fund, through Arts Council England.

16/01/2026

Wonderful seeing so many services, including GPs, NHS, voluntary services, and schools supporting the work we do here at Choice.

As a trusted parent carer organisation in the North East, we are very mindful of every piece of information we produce and share, ensuring that it's not only information that is necessary and needed, but fact checked with the relevant practitioners.

We are proud to be supporting people like us, in similar circumstances, and adamant to make our community heard.

So if you see our posters, info or more out and about, take a pic and tag us... we'd love to see how far we've reached!

Team CWS

15/01/2026

We know you've heard of our Rainbow Guide™️, your one-stop shop for SEND and jam-packed full of information on all of the services that can help across your local area.

Our guides now cover:
📍Sunderland
📍South Tyneside
📍 Durham
📍 Gateshead
📍Northumberland

They're used by practitioners across the North East as their go to guide to supporting parent carers.

"Their Rainbow Guide along with their new SEND information in Sunderland guides are supporting families and equipping them with the knowledge they need to ensure they as parent carers receive the support needed as well as their child/ren."
- Practitioner

"Through innovative resources like the Rainbow Guide and SEND in Sunderland project, Choice has empowered families to access the help they need, feel less isolated, and advocate confidently for their children." - Practitioner

We've received soo much support, it's been overwhelming and very much appreciated.

After the roaring success of the guides, we thought why not make it even more accessible? And now, it's available 24/7 and always in your pocket when you need it!

Download our new app, Rainbow Guides, now! It's available on the your App Store and has all of the information you find in our guides and more!

It also includes all of our SEND in Sunderland resources, which are universal so can be used whichever area you live in and help you navigate everything from school, home, equipment, travel, funding, sleep and so much more!

We also have a handy map that can help you find your nearest Changing Places UK wherever you are in the North East!

Give it a download today! if you want printed copies of the guides, don't worry, they're still available and still flying off the shelves as quick as we can print them!

Team CWS 🌈

13/01/2026

At Choice, we know that being a parent carer can be incredibly tough. There are days filled with worry, exhaustion, and uncertainty — and it can sometimes feel like you’re carrying it all on your own.

We want you to know that you don’t have to face the hard times alone. There is support out there, and reaching out for help is a strength, not a weakness.

If you're parent carer and you’re struggling, please reach out to us. We’re here to offer support, guidance, and a listening ear — helping you navigate challenges and feel less alone along the way.

Refer to us here: https://www.choicewellbeingservice.org/services

Team CWS 🌈

31/12/2025

As we head into the New Year, we just want to say a huge thank you from all of us at Choice Wellbeing Service.

This past year has been a really special one. We’ve grown, we’ve built something we’re truly proud of, and we’ve been lucky to work alongside so many amazing people. None of it would have been possible without the support, trust, and encouragement from our community, and everyone who believes in what we do.

We’re so grateful for every conversation, every referral, and every bit of support along the way — it genuinely means the world to us.

We’re heading into the New Year feeling positive, motivated, and excited for what’s ahead. Here’s to continuing to grow, providing more support, and make a difference together.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year from Team CWS 🌈🫶🏻

17/12/2025

🎅🏻🎅🏻 Santa is on his way! 🎅🏻🎅🏻

Due to the man in red being on his way, getting ready to take alll of the glory of all your hard work, we wanted to wish you all a huge Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Like you guys, our Christmas won't look the textbook Christmas card image, but it will be a form of Christmas that suits us. That is all that matters...

So to help us prepare both physically and mentally for Christmas, our office will be closed from today until January 5th.

If you need some impromptu support, please feel free to pop us a message, otherwise check out our website or our app!

from our team to you guys, whatever you do the next two weeks, we hope there is a moment of peace ❤

Team CWS

15/12/2025

✨What a year we've had at Choice! ✨

As we start to wind down for the Christmas hols and the New Year, we wanted to give a run down of the amazing year we've had!

🌈We launched our SEND in Sunderland packs - full of guides and information to support parent carers on their send journey, signpost to the right place at the right time and be that village that they need!

🌈 We have been delivering hundreds holistic and counselling from our cosy therapy room that we gave a makeover at the beginning of the year!

🌈 Our SEND in Sunderland Network grew so much we've toured the city, finding bigger and better venues each time to accommodate just how many services and organisations come along!

🌈 We have begun to develop the SEND in South Tyneside network alongside South Tyneside Parent Carer Forum!

🌈We launched our 5th (yes, 5, can you even believe it?!) Rainbow Guide with Northumberland Parent Carer Forum so we now cover Sunderland, South Tyneside, Durham, Gateshead and Northumberland!

🌈 We released our Gateshead Guide alongside Gateshead Parent Carer Forum, Gateshead Council and North East and North Cumbria NHS

🌈 Our Durham guide got a new look and re-launch with the help of MCT Durham PCF CIO - Durham parent carer forum page

🌈 We delivered training sessions for practitioners across the North East, with our most recent being at the University of Sunderland talking about understanding the mental health impact parent carers face.

🌈 We launched our Rainbow Guides app on the 12th December, with a special mention to the guys at Nebula Labs for all their hard work in creating it! It's a project we are so proud of and hope it will help sooo many more parent carers by making it easy and accessible whenever they need it!

🌈We were nominated and shortlisted at the Inclusion North awards and won Runner Up for the Outstanding Achievement Award - which is an amazing achievement for only our 2nd full year!

🌈A special mention to the last member of Choice to join us, Dusty - our special mascot and all round whirlwind, (If it's not nailed down, he'll have scampered off with it!) But how could anyone resist that cute face of his?!?!?!

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted just catching up on what we got up to! Thank you so much to all of the organisations, services and parent carers who have supported us this year. We never take your support for granted, as without all of you, we wouldn't be doing any of this!

And we're not done yet! Watch this space as there's more to come in 2026!!

Team CWS

12/12/2025

Our app is live!

I am soo proud how far Choice Wellbeing Service CIC has come and the people we've met along the way.

I can honestly say all of our team is worth their weight in gold, and they are nowhere near getting the salary they SHOULD be getting because they really do go above and beyond for every single client...

Working in the Mental health field is not just a cuppa and a chat over some cheap cake in a coffee morning while everyone secretly is judging you ( i know this because I've been in them coffee mornings).

Its showing up for others when they can't show up for themselves... for that, i am especially grateful to the team for everything they do and showing up and working even harder while i've been off recently ❤️

So please give our wonderful team a round of applause with me,

Thank you,
Tracey,

Co founder, counsellor, and parent carer on a mission to make a change 🫶