IT was smiles all round when a Winchester dental insurance company handed over a cheque for needy children.

The NSPCC Family SMILES service centre in Southampton was handed £3,200 by dental payment plan specialist, Denplan, at a special ceremony yesterday (January 20).

Community funds from the firm were handed to help children and young people whose parents suffer from mental health problems.

The SMILES service – which stands for Simplifying Mental Illness plus Life Enhancement Skills – is aimed at helping the children aged eight to 14 in a bid to better their home life.

Gemma Graves, NSPCC community fundraising manager for Hampshire, said: “Denplan’s generous donation will help children and their families in Southampton smile again. It will enable the practitioners at our Southampton service centre to reach even more local families and provide the support they so desperately need.

“It will improve children’s self-esteem and knowledge about mental illness and they will feel less isolated. Parents will have a better understanding of how their mental illness affects their parenting and their relationship with their child will improve.”

As well as helping children directly, the money will be used to give parents one-to-one support to come up with a plan to ensure their child’s safety, should they fall ill.

Sharon Ellis, Denplan’s head of human resources and community fund chairman, said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to support such a worthwhile local resource. Mental illness can affect many families in different ways and we recognise the importance of having specialist support available such as the NSPCC Family SMILE service.

“We do indeed hope that our funds will help to bring smiles to Southampton families this year.”