Early Help Offer at UpHolland Roby Mill C of E Primary School

At UpHolland Roby Mill C of E Primary School we recognise how challenging day to day family life can be. It is perfectly normal for all families to need a little extra help or advice from time to time. If you, as a family, are struggling or if you have any worries or concerns about your child, our Early Help offer can provide much needed support and advice. This may include concerns about behaviour, mental health or general wellbeing.

Should you require any support, please contact us. You can contact the school office on 01695 622536 or speak to Mrs Grand, each morning or afternoon at the school gates or via email at head@robymill.lancs.sch.uk

The Role of Schools

Day to Day Support

Most families, most of the time, can get on with their lives quite happily with little or no outside help. If they need help it is usually provided by universal services, such as schools.

Focused Pastoral Support

All families can have times, however, when difficulties arise and they either may not recognise it or may not know how to start putting things right. Schools play a role in supporting families to address these difficulties through more focused pastoral support, which might include bringing in support via an external agency.  

Early Help Assessment

For those children and families whose needs and circumstances make them more vulnerable, or where schools need the support of other agencies to meet the needs of the family, a coordinated multi-agency approach is usually best. In Lancashire this is achieved through undertaking an Early Help Assessment and assigning a Lead Practitioner to work closely with the family to ensure they receive the support they require. Often this Lead Professional will be Mrs Grand.

How can we help?

We can offer:

• A listening ear.
• An adaptive curriculum for our pupils.
• Many pupils accessing sensory breaks as part of our universal offer.
• An open-door policy where all families are provided with time and support where needed.
• Advice and strategies to support your family with challenging behaviour or attendance concerns.
• Signposting for clubs to help support mental and physical well-being.
• Support in accessing free school meals.
• Second-hand uniform at our uniform swap.
• Free snack for all pupils at break time.
• Access to local food banks and charities who can support with other household needs such as furniture.
• Advice regarding any SEND concerns that you may have.
• An Early Help Assessment (see below) to identify areas where you may benefit from support.
• Referrals for parenting support such as Triple P.
• Work with other agencies who can provide specialist help – the school nursing team, CAMHS, CANW, Compass Bloom.
• Contact details of organisations who can support with housing, financial or mental health concerns.

To ensure your family will access the correct level of support at the right time, we use the principles set out in Working Well with Children and Families document.

What is Early Help?

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. Early Help:

• is for children of all ages and not just the very young,
• 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.

Lancashire County Council recognises that Early Help is a term that describes much of the everyday work of schools.

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/practitioners/supporting-children-and-families/

Early Help in Lancashire:

The vision of all partner organisations working with children and families in Lancashire is to improve children’s lives by working in partnership to raise aspirations, build achievement and protect the most vulnerable.

This is based on the belief that:

• Children, young people and families develop resilience if there are protective factors in place such as: a positive relationship with an adult; good literacy and communication skills; good school attendance; and, parents in or actively seeking/ready for work
• Children’s needs are best met when help is offered in a universal setting within a socially mixed group and early on when problems start to emerge
• Children and young people’s needs are best met when addressed in the context of the whole family, meaning that parents/carers/siblings’ needs are addressed with consent as part of a holistic and integrated Early Help response

Early Help services should support and strengthen families so that they can thrive.

We follow the Working Well with Children and Families Guidance:

https://www.lancashiresafeguarding.org.uk/media/19299/wwwcf-part-1-and-2-final.pdf

Lancashire CSAP (Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership) website:

https://www.safeguardingpartnership.org.uk/

The CSAP website is full of useful safeguarding and CP information.

Early Help Assessment

The Early Help Assessment is an intervention with a family to gather, explore and analyse with them information about all aspects of the child or young person (and their family’s) life and then to identify areas where change will address support needs and positively impact on their lived experiences.

This is recorded on an Early Help Assessment form which includes the family’s Early Help Plan.

Your Family’s Early Help Assessment is available to all practitioners and professionals working with children, young people, and their families across Lancashire.

Working alongside families from a holistic, strength-based approach when areas of support are first identified will stop escalation towards crisis and the need for more intensive and specialist intervention.

Through the Early Help Assessment, Plan, and reviews via Team Around the Family meetings the wider partnership of services can provide families with the right support at the right time.