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 negatively on outcomes for children. 

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 to step down from statutory services as well as preventing issues from escalating. 

• Is important because there is clear evidence that it results in better outcomes for children.

Early Help in Leicester  

The vision in Leicester is to improve children’s lives by working in partnership to raise aspirations, build achievement and protect the most vulnerable. 

This is based on the belief that: 

• Children, young people and families develop resilience if there are protective factors in place such as: a positive relationship with an adult; good literacy and communication skills; good school attendance; and parents in or actively seeking/ready for work 

• Children’s needs are best met when help is offered in a universal setting within a socially mixed group and early on when problems start to emerge 

• Children and young people’s needs are best met when addressed in the context of the whole family, meaning that parents/carers/siblings’ needs are addressed with consent as part of a holistic and integrated Early Help response 

Early help services should support and strengthen families so that they can thrive. 

  

The Role of Schools 

Day to Day Support 

Most families, most of the time, can get on with their lives quite happily with little or no outside help. If they need help it is usually provided by universal services, such as schools. 

  

Focused Pastoral Support                                                                                                                                    

All families can have times, however, when difficulties arise, and they either may not recognise it or may not know how to start putting things right. Schools play a role in supporting families to address these difficulties through more focused pastoral support, which might include bringing in support via an external agency. 

  

Early Help Assessment 

For those children and families whose needs and circumstances make them more vulnerable, or where schools need the support of other agencies to meet the needs of the family, a coordinated multi-agency approach is usually best. In Leicester this is achieved through undertaking an Early Help Assessment and assigning a Lead Practitioner to work closely with the family to ensure they receive the support they require.  Schools should be a key partner in any multi-agency work to support families. 

 

Our Early Help Offer at Netherhall Mead Academy 

Our Attendance Offer 

• Attendance data monitored, reviewed and actioned by school well-being co-ordinator including liaison with parents as appropriate 

• EWO (Educational Welfare Officers) involvement and attendance at relevant meetings 

• School office will contact parents/carers on the first day of absence 

• Home visits where appropriate 

• Involvement of medical professionals if there’s a medical condition affecting attendance 

• Support for parents in arranging transport through the EHCP review process 

   

Our Primary Transition Offer 

• Use of social stories to support moving from class to class, key stage to key stage and from school to school 

• Transition Day(s) 

• Pupil passport 

• Work with key partners including health and social care 

• Visits for prospective families 

• Coffee morning for new parents 

   

Our Secondary/Sixth Form Transition Offer 

• Connexions PA/social care transitions team to advise and support pupils in their final year and their families including applications to colleges of further education 

• Pupil passport 

• Social stories as appropriate 

• Work with key partners 

• Link between educational phases 

• Transition Day(s) 

• Visits for prospective families 

• Coffee morning for new parents 

  

Our Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) Offer 

• Work with key partners including school nurse, CAMHS (Children, Adolescent Mental Health Service), Educational Psychologist, LCI Team, SEMH Team 

• Access to regular therapeutic resources including yoga, music and art therapy 

• Lunch clubs  

• Positive Behaviour Support Programme 

• Risk Reduction Plans for individual pupils as required 

• Staff training in Autism 

• Staff training in mental health in children and young people 

• Virtual school team support for LAC 

• Whole school holistic approach to mental wellbeing 

  

Our Curriculum Offer 

• 1:1 / group work 

• Interventions including Play Therapy 

• Assemblies 

• Key learning areas for all pupils – personal development & exploring and understanding the world 

• Careers Education 

• Inter-school events 

• Subsidised school trips / visits 

• Thematic teaching 

  

Our Staying Safe Offer 

• Relevant policies and procedures are in place 

• Pupils learn about staying safe through; PHSE (Personal Health Social Education), Assemblies 

• E-safety through curriculum as appropriate as well as advice for parents 

• Risk Reduction plans for individual pupils 

• Several trained designated safeguarding leaders who fully understand and implement safeguarding policy and procedure across the school and work with other agencies including social care 

• Safeguarding meetings held weekly with regular supervision sessions to ensure best practice 

• Home visits 

• Parent workshops 

• PEP/LAC meetings 

• School nurse involvement as appropriate 

• Tracking of incidents using CPOMS 

• Whole school safeguarding training including Prevent, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), Forced marriages, CUAB (Children Using Abusive Behaviour) 

  

Our Supporting Families Offer 

• School based events for families e.g. Christmas fayre, singalong 

• School wellbeing team to support families with health/medical issues 

• Support for form completion including financial support and housing 

• Home visits 

• Parents evenings 

• Pastoral support 

• Signposting to external agencies and training such as SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice Support Service) 

• Parent group/workshops 

• Newsletters to parents 

  

Our Local Community Offer 

• Community events – Christingle, café for local care home residents 

• School based events for families e.g. Christmas fayre, singalong 

• School to school support and collaboration 

• Academy Council with local business and community interests and links 

• Community Links such as businesses, religious groups 

• Work experience for sixth form pupils within the local community 

• Supporting charities including Children in Need, Sport/Comic Relief, Macmillan etc. 

• Work related learning with local charities 

  

The Curriculum 

Our Offer: 

• 1:1/ group work 

• Interventions 

• Assemblies 

• Key learning areas for all pupils – personal development & exploring and understanding the world 

• Careers Education 

• Inter-school events 

• Subsidised school trips / visits 

• Thematic teaching 

• Measurable outcomes: 

• Pupils make progress towards their personalised learning priorities 

• Increase numbers of pupils accessing opportunities outside of the taught curriculum