Our Early Help Offer
What is Early Help?
At Kessingland Church of England Primary Academy, we understand that from time to time family life can have complications. There may be times when families need some extra help and support.
Early Help is everybody’s responsibility: together we will make sure that children, young people and their families are safe, happy and ready for school, work and life’s challenges.
Early Help means better outcomes for children and families. Effective Early Help will resolve problems before they become overwhelming. Early Help enables children to be ready for school and more likely to achieve their full potential.
What support do we offer?
Our Student and Family Support Team (SaFS) is led by Miss Smith, who is also our SENDCo and DSL. We have a full time Pastoral Lead and Thrive Practitioner (Mrs Cooper) and a full time Student and Family Support Ambassador who is also our online safety and Young Carers Lead (Mrs Hood). We can listen to you and find out what help you need as well as talking about what is going well. We can offer advice on a range of concerns or can signpost parents to other sources of information, help and support.
What concerns can parents share with our team?
We are there to listen to any concerns that you are worried might be having a negative impact on your children. Parents share a wide range of issues such as: behaviour management, mobility difficulties, housing concerns, financial worries and debts, domestic abuse, parents in prison, bereavement and loss, cyber bullying and many more.
What might we offer in response to these concerns?
- Targeted support within curriculum areas and specific intervention to address learning/physical and behaviour needs.
- Pastoral support including Thrive intervention, feelings and wishes, drawing and talking and friendship groups.
- Parenting Support – We run Solihull parenting courses. These aren’t sessions to tell you how to do it, but an opportunity to share what works and sometimes what doesn’t!
- Young Carer Support – we work closely with Suffolk Young Carers and provide opportunities in and out of school for our Young Carers to meet together and share experiences and worries.
- Practical Support – we work with charities who can provide emergency provisions, including food parcels. We also offer our Breakfast Club for those who need extended care for their child before school and this is provided free to pupils who are eligible for Pupil Premium.
- Health Related Support – we work closely with School Nursing, Speech and Language, CAMHS, Occupational Therapists, Health Visitors and GPs to ensure children are able to access school and are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles.
- Attendance Support – We work closely with our Education Welfare Officer and offer a range of attendance incentives and supportive meetings to improve attendance and identify and support any barriers.
- A Common Assessment Framework (CAF) – The common assessment framework is a way of working with families who are struggling and puts their needs at the heart of decisions made about how they get help.
Which External Agencies might the school refer to?
- The Early Help Team
- Children and Young People Services
- School Nurse
- Speech and Language Therapist
- Educational Psychologist
- Suffolk Young Carers
- Local Authority Family Services Team
- Educational Welfare Officer
- Point 1
- Mental Health Support Team in Schools
- Specialist Education Services
What services might I be signposted to?
- Citizens Advice Bureau
- GP
- Paediatrician
- Children and Young People Services
- The Early Help Team
- Foodbank
- SENDIASS
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
