Early Help
From time to time, we all go through situations which are difficult to cope with. We sometimes hear in the media about families who are, or who have been, struggling, or even in danger.
Early Help’ means providing help for children, young people, and families as soon as problems start to emerge or where it is likely that issues will impact negatively on children’s outcomes. We believe that by working together we can better support children and families. There are times when our families may need support from a wide range of agencies or people, for example, health services, housing services, family support workers, social workers, and local police.
Our Early Help Offer gives parents a framework for asking for support. An assessment form may be completed, or signposting given, to provide parents and families with services who can help. This may be behaviour support, parenting advice, bereavement counselling, health advice, or for specific medical issues. The list is not finite.
At Turnditch, we do not have a great deal of need for such services, although we do utilise any service we need to, in order to best support our pupils and their families. We will ask for individual tailored support that best meets the needs of individual situations. If in any doubt, please come and talk to us. We are here for you.
As a school we may be able to signpost you to a range of services which will help support our families beyond the educational setting.
Early help…
- Is for children of all ages and not just the very young,
- Can be provided at any point of need and;
- Can be very effective in supporting a child, young person and/or their family to step down from statutory services as well as preventing the escalation of issues.
- Is important because there is clear evidence that it results in better outcomes for children.
Early help is a term that describes much of the everyday work of schools.
Turnditch provides an Early Help Offer, in partnership with the Derbyshire Early Help package. Further support with accessing Early Help can be found on the Children and Family services pages at the Derbyshire County Council website
Our Early Help Offer is led by Mr Brown and Miss Bunn who are our trained Designated Safeguarding Leaders.
Mr Webster, school SENCO works with the school DSLs, staff and parents to ensure we identify and help those who require positive family support.
If you have any questions or would just like to have a chat, please contact us: 01773 550304 or via email: enquiries@turnditch.derbyshire.sch.uk
What sort of concerns might parents share with us?
A wide range of issues such as boundary setting, domestic abuse, mental health issues, housing concerns, financial worries and debts, morning routines, toilet training, managing screen time, bereavement and loss, cyber bullying- in fact any concerns which you are worried about and that might be having a negative impact on your child.
How will we know when Early Help is needed?
Parents, carers, children, and staff may tell us that support is required, or practitioners may identify that there are emerging needs and services might be required, as there are concerns about a child.
We will assess the needs, and this may identify that an Early Help Assessment is needed and the subsequent action that needs to be taken.
How will families be supported through an Early Help Offer?
Children and families will be supported and reviewed through an Early help Assessment format, which is currently the assessment process used by the Local Authority.
Early Help at Turnditch– Family of Schools work
What is Early Help?
Early Help is the process and means by which the needs of children and their families for support are identified and addressed as soon as they emerge, so that children’s development is maintained and harm prevented. Early help can be targeted and sometimes intensive work with the wider family. This can occur at different points in the child’s life, including pre-birth, and may be repeated for different reasons, as the child develops.
The consequences of not addressing needs in this way are that the issues may become more entrenched, complex and acute and can become overlaid by additional needs and problems, not just for the individual child, but for the wider family. Thus requiring greater help and support from more agencies as time progresses and creating more severe and intractable problems. Early Help can avoid these escalations and support/enable the child and the family to resolve their own issues and build resilience for the future.
Our Family of Schools Worker (FoSW) provides emotional and practical help and advice to families who are experiencing long- or short-term difficulties, from across the Cluster of Gell Schools (COGS).
The kind of challenges facing the families include:
- Parental conflict
- Financial concerns
- A child or parent with a disability
- Attendance problems at school
- Emotional/behavioural difficulties for a child
- Concerns about developmental progress
- Family conflict
- Children not getting enough social stimulation
- Lack of positive role models and parents not engaging with school
- Wellbeing and mental health of the family
Families are referred to the FoSW by schools within our cluster (COGS). Early Help also work alongside social services to create the right support for the family. Early Help consists of co-ordinated support from universal and targeted services, such as Health services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Early Help Teams in Derbyshire, Voluntary and community sector organisations such as Action for Children.
For example, families may need help to improve their home management, parenting skills and mental health, therefore the FoSW considers teaching and encouraging them to:
- Develop physical and emotional caring
- Learn how to educate children through
- Understand the different ways to deal with behavioural
- Gain control of the family
- Refer the parents into parenting courses e. child online safety
- Gain the voice of all family members
- Refer the family to counselling support or liaise with CAMHS on how to support the family.
We will continue to use the statutory guidance and the Threshold Guidance issued by the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Boards in all of our work towards meeting the responsibilities outlined above.
What is an Early Help Assessment (EHA)?
An EHA is an initial assessment and planning tool that facilitates and coordinates multi-agency support. It assesses the situation of the child or young person and their family and helps to identify the needs of both the children and the adults in the family.
It enables families and agencies to efficiently identify the strengths and emerging needs of children and young people at risk of poor outcomes; it reduces duplication of assessment and improves involvement between agencies.
As part of the detailed Early Help Assessment we will look at the following areas for each unborn baby/child/young person and their family:
- What are the child’s wishes and feelings?
- What are the harms or risks (past and present) that we are worried about in respect of an unborn baby/child/young person?
- Are there any concerns or risks external to the family, such as in the extended family, peer group, community, and school or on-line?
- What has happened to this child/young person? What trauma may have impacted on them?
- What are we worried is going to happen to the unborn baby/child/young person in the future if nothing changes?
- What are the parents/ carers understanding of the situation and to what extent have they engaged with the services?
- What are the child/young person’s and family’s strengths? Could these be built upon, utilised?
- What support and interventions have been offered previously?
- Did these make a difference? If not, why not?
- What support and interventions can your agency offer this unborn baby/child/young person and family? Could this address the needs or is support required from another agency or other local facilities?
- What support is needed and how will this address the needs? What’s working and what’s not?
To download our Early Help Procedures, Click here
To download our Early Help Information, Click here.
Early Help Support team:-
| David Brown | Executive Headteacher Designated Safeguarding Lead |
| Roxanne Bunn | Head of School Deputy DSL |
| Andrew Webster | SENDCO |
| Rebecca Barker | Emotional Literacy Support Advisor (ELSA) |
| Ella Richardson | Family Support Worker
Mon-Fri 8am-4pm Tel: 01629 825577 Mobile: 07936 912840 |
| Helen Dafforne | – COGs Head of Pastoral Care and Designated Safeguarding Lead Officer – 01629 825577 or 07734 258141 |
Click here to view Stay Healthy Warm and Well in Derbyshire
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Information
Click here to view SCA CAMHS leaflet
Click here to view NHS Mental Health Leaflet
Derby and Derbyshire Mental Health Pathway Guidance
Gaining children’s views, wishes and feelings is central to our Safeguarding policy, and the support team may also carry out some direct work with children completing the ‘Children’s Voice’ sheet to discuss any worries, good things, and dreams for the future.
An important part of the support team’s work is to escalate concerns where there are no improvements. The school will always follow the Child Protection and Safeguarding policy in this instance. If a child makes a disclosure or if as a school we are concerned about a child’s welfare, we would seek advice from safeguarding partners. If a child is at risk of harm, this information may be shared prior to consent being gained.
Agencies
Here are some of the agencies that we work closely with:
- School Health
- Autism Outreach
- Health Visiting Team
- Educational Psychology
- Behaviour Support Services
- Local Police Community Support Officers
- Speech Therapists
- SSSEN service
- Occupational Therapists
- Domestic Abuse Services
- Safe Speak (Relate)
- NSPCC
- Hearing and Vision Impaired Teams
- Domestic abuse support and information services in Derbyshire: 08000 198 668
If you’re deaf or hearing impaired, text: 07534 617252.
- The Men’s advice line – A confidential helpline for male victims of domestic abuse and those supporting them 0808 801 0327
Derbyshire Domestic Abuse Support Line has details of the provider in your area. They’ll give initial advice and guidance and make referrals to these services for you. Tel: 0800 019 8668
The support provided locally includes:
- Emergency refuge accommodation
- Outreach support in the community, including counselling, and self-esteem and confidence building sessions
- Dedicated support for children and young people affected by domestic abuse, both those in refuge and in the community
- School Health Team: 01773 599410
- Health Visiting Team: 01773 599410
- Citizen’s Advice Bureau: 0300 456 8390
- Derbyshire Recovery Partnership (alcohol / drugs): 0845 308 4010
- Talking Mental Health Derbyshire: 0300 123 0542
- Derbyshire Discretionary Fund: 01629 533 399
- Step Change: 0800 138 1111
Useful links to further places for support:
- Domestic Abuse Support– https://www.saferderbyshire.gov.uk/what-we-do/domestic-abuse/domestic-abuse.aspx
- Talking Mental Health Derbyshire https://www.derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk/services/talking-mental-health-derbyshire
- Derbyshire Recovery Partnership- https://www.derbyshirerecoverypartnership.co.uk/
- Derbyshire Homelessness Service – https://www.p3charity.org/services/derbyshire-homelessness-service
- StepChange Debt Charity – Free Expert Debt Advice.
- Covid-19 (morrisonsfoundation.com) Homeless support fund
- Home – Kooth online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people
- Action For Children | Children’s charity | For safe and happy childhoods
- Children, young people and grief | Cruse Bereavement Care
- SV2 – Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence – Home
- (5) Safe and Sound Group | Facebook – supporting vulnerable young people at risk of exploitation
- NSPCC | The UK children’s charity | NSPCC
- Childline | Childline
- Home | Parent Zone
- Barnardos https://www.barnardos.org.uk/what-we-do/protecting-children
- Safespeak https://www.safespeak.org.uk/