Toll Bar Primary School

Parent Support

Parent Support Help and Advice

For information, advice and support please contact either Jo Ginnever or Lynn Wood, who are both trained in Early Help.

We can support you and your child(ren) with any issues you may have, both in school and at home. The first time we may meet will be when your child(ren) first enters into school. We work alongside the team of staff in the Foundation Unit preparing for the Head Start visits into school and doing the important home visits. The home visit enables you as parents to discuss any concerns that you may have and we ensure that all of the children’s needs are identified from an early-stage.

We believe that it is so important for everyone to enjoy their child(ren)'s life in school from the very first day.

We have stay and play, along with extra sessions and activities going on in the Foundation unit for you to join in and very quickly become part of your child(ren)'s school life.

Early Identification:

Once a child starts school it may well be that we recognise that there are some difficulties or you may notice difficulties yourself. We can help to answer and advise you on your parenting questions and issues such as: How can you help me to connect to my child(ren) to understand their emotions? I’m struggling to communicate with my child(ren), they don’t listen to me, what can I do? How can I create a good routine, for bedtime, for meal times, for homework? I’m really finding that I’m not managing the challenging behaviour of my child(ren), either at school or at home, and just need somebody to talk to.

It may be that your child(ren) is changing schools and you require advice to complete admissions or transfer forms for reception/secondary school, information around visiting those schools, and when open evenings are. I am here to support you every step of the way.

Parental support beyond school:

As Early Help Leaders in school, we are able to work with parents and listen to the difficulties that you’re facing. We can sign post to the services that are providing invaluable support throughout our area. These services can offer help with mental health issues, physical disabilities, eating disorders, smoking, drugs, alcohol, anti-social behaviour, debt, housing difficulties and relationship problems. So please, come and talk to us and let us help to provide a service that could help you.

If you are suffering with isolation or if you ever find yourself thinking ‘I just need someone to talk to’ or ‘I just need someone to listen to me’ them we are here for you. We can be found most mornings on the foundation playground doing the usual meet and greet with parents. Please be aware that we are available to all parents throughout the school, not just parents in Foundation classes.

We are also designated safeguarding officers in school.

If you would like an informal chat, then please either catch me in person or ring school to arrange to come in and have a talk.

I look forward to meeting you.

Early Help

What is Early Help?

Early Help is a way of getting extra help and support when a family needs it, but getting it as soon as difficulties start, rather than waiting until things get worse. It’s for children and young people of any age and their family. Help can come from all kinds of services and organisations who work together to support your family.  This is different support to SEND support which is accessed through the school via the school SENDCO. 

Why would someone seek Early Help?

It could be that they’re worried about their child’s health, development or behaviour (including behaviours at home), or perhaps because they are caring for a disabled child. Maybe them, their child or their whole family are affected by relationships within the family, drugs or alcohol or they are experiencing personal distress or anxiety, financial or housing problems. By getting help from the right services at the right time, and as early as possible, Early Help can help prevent or reduce potential problems for children as they grow up. 

Possible outcomes of Early Help

• Getting a good education
• Good early years development
• Improved mental and physical health
• Promoting recovery and reducing harm from substance use
• Improved family relationships
• Children safe from abuse and exploitation
• Crime prevention and tackling crime
• Safe from domestic abuse
• Secure housing
• Financial stability

Early Help process

• Member of staff is concerned and thinks parent may need help so would initially speak to Jo Ginnever/Lynn Wood.
• Or Parent(s) seeks initial help from a member of staff.  Member of staff would listen to their concerns and pass the information onto Jo Ginnever/Lynn Wood.

• A referral may be made to Local Services such as YourPlace or an Early Help referral may be needed (either route needs to be with parent consent)
• The referral is screened by Local Help to be actioned or by the Multi Agency Hub if Early Help is required
• If Early Help is required then a Lead Practitioner is assigned to the family.  This is someone familiar to the family and who is trained in the role.  They will support the family, coordinate all support and be main point of contact between professionals whilst the family are open to Early Help.
• An Early Help Assessment is completed.  This is a form that is completed by the Lead Practitioner in partnership with a family to identify strengths and needs. An Early Help Assessment helps identify what a family would like to change and to develop a Whole Family Action Plan. The children will also be encouraged to discuss their needs and have their voice heard during the assessment. Tools such as Family Star Plus, My Star or the Graded Care Profile 2 and more can be used to support the Lead Practitioner to identify the strengths and needs for the family.  Teachers will be asked to provide a detailed report for the Assessment.
• Whole Family Plan: Once the Early Help Assessment is completed it will help identify what is working well, what worries there are and what needs to happen next. The Whole Family Plan will focus on what needs to happen next. This plan will be reviewed regularly, to ensure everybody is working towards achieving the best outcomes for the family.  Teachers will be asked to provide a report for the plan.
• Team around the family: Once the plan has been agreed, some of the support needed may require other services input, for example a midwife, a teacher, health professionals, job centre, housing officer, a family support worker or school SENDCO. The Lead Practitioner will arrange for the necessary team(s) to support the family meetings. The Lead Practitioner holds regular Team around the Family meetings whilst a family is open to services, which brings everyone working with the family, around the table to re-assess, review and amend the plan. The children also have a voice at these meetings and teachers will be asked to provide updates on how the child is doing in class.
• Once a family becomes confident and able to find their own solutions they will be closed at Early Help. They can continue to use all services that have open access to families and children, and access local help if needed, but, if their circumstances change and they need further help they can ask for it at any time.

EARLY HELP IS A VOLUNTARY SERVICE OPEN TO ANYONE WHO ASKS FOR HELP

https://www.doncaster.gov.uk/services/schools/early-help-what-is-it-in-doncaster

Early Help - video

Early Help Leaflet - PLEASE CLICK HERE