Essex County Council are pleased to announce the launch of two new resources this week designed to strengthen our collective work in reducing youth vaping and supporting young people affected by nicotine dependency.
1. Youth Vaping Toolkit for Education Settings and Youth Professionals
Developed collaboratively by Essex Public Health and the Essex Safeguarding Children Board, and co-designed with secondary schools, this toolkit provides practical guidance, information, and tools for staff working with children and young people. It aims to support early intervention, informed conversations, and consistent approaches across education environments.
2. Youth Vaping Toolkit for Parents and Carers
Created by the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service – Healthy Schools team, this resource has been shaped directly by insight gathered from parents and carers. It offers clear, accessible information to help families understand youth vaping, spot signs of use, and support young people to make healthy choices.
These toolkits form part of our wider youth vaping pilot programme and will sit alongside a new Essex Public Health youth vaping campaign, currently being developed in partnership with primary education settings.
We want to explore how people are using their local community pharmacies and how they think services could be improved. As part of this project, we have launched a new survey and are hosting one-to-one interviews to hear your views and provide you with the opportunity to share your experiences. We are interested in speaking with anyone from West Essex about their experiences using local pharmacies.
Whether it’s picking up prescriptions, getting health advice, or using walk-in services, your voice matters. By getting involved you’ll be shaping how pharmacy services are delivered and improving access to healthcare.
We are particularly interested in hearing from:
Children and young people
Frail/housebound residents
Parents and carers
People with neurodiverse conditions
People with sensory disabilities
For more information, visit the Healthwatch Essex website:
All responses will be kept anonymous and any personal information you provide will be strictly private and confidential.
Get in touch: If you would like to speak to us directly to share your story, please email our Project Officer Lily Boag, lily.boag@healthwatchessex.org.uk or call 07742 072740. (Please get in touch if you would like this survey to be provided in an alternative format.)
Our engagement period closes on February 20th 2026.
We’re delighted to share that the Social Impact Framework opportunity is now live!
This Framework has been designed to support the delivery of community-led, preventative services that tackle the wider determinants of health and help improve health equity across our communities.
It aims to make it easier for public sector bodies to partner with organisations like yours – those embedded in local knowledge, lived experience, and collaborative approaches.
Why This Matters
We understand that procurement processes can often feel complicated or time-consuming. That’s why we’ve worked hard to ensure this opportunity is:
✅ Accessible ✅ Proportionate ✅ Aligned with the vital work you’re already doing
We’ve also produced guidance to support you through the application process. You can access that here: 👉 Social Impact Framework Guidance
Who Should Apply?
If your organisation delivers services that make a positive social impact, we strongly encourage you to explore this opportunity.
Eligible services may include (but aren’t limited to):
🌿 Mental health and wellbeing support
💰 Financial inclusion initiatives
🏘️ Supported or independent living services
🌳 Green and community health programmes
How to Apply
All documentation and communication for this opportunity is being managed through Atamis, and there will be no hard copy materials issued.
