Supporting Families and Wellbeing: Our Early Help Offer
At Ashton under Hill First School we recognise the challenges that families face in bringing up children. Life doesn't always follow the path we may choose, it is full of 'up's and downs'. Our Supporting Families and Wellbeing Offer is an important part of our school and community partnership to help children and families get back on track as soon as a problem emerges; it aims to stop problems escalating.
For more information click here:
Supporting Families and Wellbeing Offer
Mental Health & Wellbeing
At Ashton under Hill First School we recognise every child as an individual. At times children have feelings of worry, sadness, anxiety, low mood or they might be struggling with something else such as panic, poor sleep or stress. Alongside our positive and nurturing ethos across school, we have many tools and strategies to support the wellbeing of children and families.
Our Mental Health Waves of Support provide strategies and support for children across school.
Mental Health Waves of Support
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Key Personnel:
The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is: Mrs Emma Tulley Contact details: email: [email protected] Phone: 01386 881333
The Deputy DSl's are : Mrs Jennifer Clements and Miss Lauren Hayward Contact details: email: [email protected] Phone: 01386 881333
The nominated safeguarding Governor is : Mr Alan Chattell Contact details: email: [email protected] Phone: 01386 881333
The Headteacher is : Mrs Emma Tulley Contact details: email: [email protected] Phone: 01386 881333
The Chairman of Governors is: Geoff Mills Contact details: email: [email protected] Phone: 01386 881333
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What concerns might parents share?
There is a wide range of concerns parents may have. These can include:
Behaviour management
Sleep issues
Financial difficulties
Housing
Benefits
Bereavement
Domestic Violence
Medical worries
School attendance
The list above is only a brief outline of help that can be offered. Any problems can be discussed privately and confidentially. Where staff are unsure of a specific support group they will contact other agencies to ascertain the correct advice.
What support will be on offer?
Sometimes just a chat and sharing ideas can be all it takes to start a positive reaction to a problem. However within the team we have specific training and skills to share. These include:
- Trained Safeguarding Leads
- SENCO
- Drawing and Talking Therapy
How will the support be managed?
Initial meetings will be arranged and informal support and ideas will be offered. Plans and suggestions made will be recorded for future reference.
Where necessary links may be made with local schools if the issues are affecting the whole family.
At times it may be necessary to complete an Early Help Offer and take advice from other agencies. This will be discussed and parental consent will be granted before this level of support is used. There are specific forms that will need to be completed at this stage which will be discussed and shared at all stages. At this level more formal meetings will be arranged in order to put specific targets in place to support the family and individuals.
Early Help Assessment Document
Everyone needs help at some time in their lives and therefore an ethos of early help is important for any school. Our coordinated offer of Early Help is outlined in the table below. We believe that early interventions for children or families, in many cases, will prevent children from experiencing harm.
| Open Door Policy | The school encourages all parents to discuss concerns as early as possible. The teaching staff are available at either end of the school day so parents can touch base with them regarding minor or ongoing issues. If parents or teachers feel a more extensive meeting would be profitable then this will be arranged at a mutual time to both parties. |
| 1-1 or group support | Where deemed appropriate the school can provide 1-1 sessions and group work to help children tackle issues they may be facing. The trigger for this will be that staff feel the needs are unique or severe enough such that they cannot be met within a classroom setting. These sessions are usually administered by teaching assistants under the guidance of the teaching staff. |
| Safeguarding Training | The school values Safeguarding training at all levels. The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and the deputy DSL undergo training every 2 years. New staff carry out online safeguarding training as part of their induction. The Headteacher works with the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children’s Boards’ who send alerts to all schools thereby keeping knowledge and awareness of Safeguarding up to date and at the heart of their practice. |
| Drawing and Talking | Mrs Gibbons is a fully trained Drawing and Talking therapist and provides a therapeutic approach to help support children with their emotional and social development as well as other more specific needs. |
| Accessing External support | The DSL or DDSL (or other members of staff if necessary) readily seek advice from the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB) in the event of a disclosure, or if they are concerned about a child’s wellbeing. |
| Domestic Abuse | Staff understand the correlation between Domestic Abuse and Child Protection – Staff are vigilant, listening to the child and making referrals as required. The Front Door is used to monitor those children where domestic abuse is an issue. |
| FGM and Forced marriage. | Staff are trained to recognise signs of FGM and Forced marriage and understand how to respond immediately. |
| CSE | The school has had training in Child Sexual Exploitation and makes referrals as necessary. Useful link for parents and carers: http://paceuk.info. |
| Radicalisation | The school has due regard to have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn in to terrorism. All staff have had training in how to spot the signs of radicalisation and extremism and when to refer to the Channel panels. |
| E-safety | The school has an e-safety policy and follows a proactive esafety programme which has been developed by the children themselves and rolled out to classes throughout the school. |
| Anti-bullying | The school is committed to tacking all forms of bullying and has an anti-bullying policy that governors review regularly. If parents have concerns in this area they can contact the class teacher in the first instance. |
| School Nurse | Every parent has access to the school nurse where matters of health and a child’s well-being can be discussed confidentially. |
Further information, advice and help can be found in the following places:
NHS Wellbeing Support Guide Supporting Children's Mental Health
Safeguarding in Worcestershire Early Help in Worcestershire Booklet
The diagram below shows the range of needs at different levels. We use this graduated approach to make sure we provide the best support for different families’ individual situations.
