Early Help Offer

At Whitley Abbey Primary School, we understand just how complicated family life can be and that there may be situations where you need extra help and support. If you need to share information or have a difficult situation you need to make us aware of we will always find the time to listen. Please come and talk to us.

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 on the 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 at the beginning of early help intervention or to step down from statutory services as well as preventing escalation of issues.
• Is important because there is clear evidence that it results in better outcomes for the children

At Whitley Abbey we offer:

• Taking the time to listen to children’s concerns. Class teachers and teaching assistants are usually the first people to notice if a child is worried or who a child wishes to confide in. They will provide pastoral support and seek extra help if needed. Each class has a ‘Worry Bag’ so children can self-refer confidentially. We also have a virtual worry box available on our website.
• We have  Mrs Reeve who provides pastoral support around the school. She works with children, individually or in groups.
• Our Safeguarding Lead Mrs Reeve coordinates safeguarding in school and provides training for staff. Mrs Reeve completes Early Help support for our families She also liaises with the Local Authority Early Help Co-ordinator when external agency involvement is needed.
• Mrs Reeve can meet with parents and school staff to draw up a plan of support
• Please see our Early Help Offer chart to see what we can offer your family

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 worries or concerns about a child.

We will assess the needs of the family and this may identify that an Early Help Assessment and the subsequent action that needs to be taken. There are also agencies which you can contact independently should you wish to do so, who might be able to help and provide the support for your family.