Early Help
Early Help for Children and Families
By providing early help for our children and families we aim to support them as soon as a problem emerges. We aim to support the child and the family at the different stages of development and throughout their time here at Primrose Hill C of E Academy.
Below are contact details for some of the agencies within Gloucestershire that families can access.
Gloucestershire Family Information Service (FIS)
Advisors give impartial information on childcare, finances, parenting and education. FIS are a useful source of information for parents and professionals. They support families, children and young people aged 0-19 years of age (25 for young people with additional needs) and professionals working with these families. They can help link parents up with other organisations that might be able to help or provide the information themselves e.g. parents could ask them about holiday clubs for your children across Gloucestershire.
Contact the FIS by emailing:
familyinfo@gloucestershire.gov.uk or telephone: (0800) 542 0202 or (01452) 427362. FIS also have a website which has a wealth of information to support many issues such as childcare and support for children with disabilities. glosfamiliesdirectory.org.uk
SEND
For information for Children and Young People with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) go to the SEN and Disability ‘Local Offer’ :
glosfamilies.org.uk/localoffer
Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership (GSCP)
https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/gscp
E-Safety
Technology is constantly changing. How can we keep our children safe whilst still enjoying the benefits of the internet? The links below give parents helpful advice on this subject.
Children or young people with multiple needs (vulnerable) or multiple needs (complex) requiring multi-agency input or assessment.
Within Gloucestershire, Early Help Partnership (co-ordinated by Families First Plus) provides multi-agency support for children and families. A phone call to discuss a possible referral is helpful before making written referral. Parents must consent to a referral.
Early Help Partnership/Families First Plus:
Email: cheltenhamearlyhelp@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01452 328161
These teams are made up of Early Help Co-ordinators, Community Social Workers and Family Support Workers. They work together from one base so they can recognise and respond to local needs and act as a focal point for co-ordinating support for vulnerable children, young people and their families.
Support provided includes:
- Support for school and community based lead professionals working with children and families collaboration with social care referrals that do not meet their thresholds, to co-ordinate support within the community
- partnership working to support children with special educational needs in school
- advice and guidance from a social work perspective on a ‘discussion in principle basis’
- signposting children with disabilities and their families to access activities and meet specific needs;
- advice and guidance to lead professionals and the provision of high quality parenting and family support services to families.
Emotional Health and Wellbeing
If you are concerned about your child’s emotional health and wellbeing, please speak to your child’s class teacher so they can help support your child in school. You can also contact the school nurse for further advice.
Telephone 0300 421 1795
Email: GlosSchoolNurseLocalityTeam@glos-care.nhs.uk
Website: School Nursing
For more information about emotional health and wellbeing, you can also visit the following websites:
Childline: www.childline.org.uk
Young Minds: www.youngminds.org.uk
Drug Concerns
Drugs education is covered in the school curriculum.
The Life Education Bus visits annually as part of the provision of RSHE in school.
Info Buzz provides individual targeted support around drugs & emotional health issues, development of personal & social skills, and information & support around substance misuse: infobuzz.co.uk
Domestic Abuse
If you, or someone you know, is affected by domestic abuse there are a number of things you can do.
You can:
- Call the police (999 in an emergency or 101 for a non-emergency situation).
- Contact GDASS on 0845 602 9035 for practical local support
- GDASS can help you and your children stay safe in your own home.
- GDASS can help you access specialist legal advice.
- GDASS can help you with other agencies (e.g. Benefits and Housing).
- If you cannot stay at home, GDASS can help you find a Place of Safety.
- GDASS can help you and your children move on.
Contact a help line:
- National Domestic Violence Helpline (0808 2000 247).
- National Centre for Domestic Abuse (0844 8044 999).
- Men’s Advice Line (0808 801 0327).
- CARP: 0845 602 9035 (providing advice for victims of domestic violence)
At Primrose Hill Church of England Academy we recognise that by supporting families in need as early as possible we may help to avert a more serious incident or situation arising for the child in our care. Our school will support all children by:
- Providing a supportive caring ethos where children are treated as individuals and their difficulties treated sensitively and they are kept safe
- Listening and responding to children’s concerns
- Talking to children and asking if everything is all right for them
- Building up positive relationships with parents so they feel able to ask for help and school feels that speaking with them would help matters for the child.
- Providing opportunities for children to express their concerns
- Monitoring the use of Pupil Premium spending and keeping a reserve for support that may need funding
- Talking to each other as a staff to ensure we have a full picture of any difficulties a family might be facing.
- Liaising with external professionals e.g. social worker, CYPS
- Finding suitable, accessible parenting courses
- Providing Safeguarding training
- Offering preventative signposting
- Response to radicalisation
- Suicide prevention
- Holding ‘ Team Around the Child’ meetings
- Working with the Multi-Agency Working Hub (MARAC MASH and Social Care) referral processes and considering permanency for the child/young person.
