What is Family Help?

At St Ambrose Catholic Primary School we recognise the challenges that families face in bringing up children. There may be times when you need extra help and support. If this is the case please come and talk to us.  We believe an ethos of Family Help is essential and the ‘Offer’ is for all children and their families. Support can be provided in many ways to prevent concerns from growing.

There are many ways in which we can help as outlined in this offer of family help. To support in the right way, we work with you to identify what you are worried about, what is working well and what needs to happen. The information you share with us we will use to form a ‘family plan’, this will help us to easily identify what other agencies and professionals will be able to support you and your child appropriately.  

Family Help is a pathway to supporting your child and you during challenging times. 

The diagram above 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.   

Providing family help to our pupils and families at St Ambrose Catholic Primary School means we can change a child's developmental path and improve outcomes for children, families, and communities, providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to teenage years. 

Keeping Children Safe in Education makes it clear that ALL staff should be aware of their local family help process and understand their role in it.

Family Help can support children and their families who may be struggling with:

• Routines and family rules
• Families who may not be eating healthy food
• Keeping to a healthy lifestyle
• Children who are caring for a family member
• Children who may not want to go to school for different reasons
• Disability within the family including children being a young carer
• Children in the family have special educational needs (SEND)
• Children who may becoming involved in anti-social or criminal behaviour
• Children who go missing from home
• Children or parents / carers misusing drugs or alcohol
• Children at risk of being tricked, forced, or made to work in the criminal world
• Children who may need support because they may live in a home and see drug or alcohol abuse or adult mental health problems.
• Children who have parents who argue a lot (and sometimes might hurt each other) whether the parents live together or apart.
• Children at risk of being groomed to join groups which support illegal views
• A privately fostered child (a child from another family living within your family home)
• Early help relies upon local groups and people in the community, sometimes we work together to help children, young people, and their families.

Everyone needs help at some time in their lives and therefore an ethos of family help is important for any school.

Our aim at St Ambrose is to help children and families as early as possible, as soon as an issue arises. Our approach includes prevention as well as intervention, where necessary and appropriate.

All staff at St Ambrose have regular and timely training on a range of issues that are relevant to local, national or international issues and concerns. We are trained to be vigilant but also to be sensitive and discreet. 

We know that if we are concerned about a child or family we take our concerns to the DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead) or one of the DDSLs (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads) who are trained and experienced in dealing with such concerns. 

We have staff who are trained and have specific areas of expertise. 

• Our safeguarding leads can give advice and support to staff and families and are able to signpost to other agencies for further support

• We have a Nurture Practitioner (Higher Level Teaching Assistant HLTA), who works with groups of children and individuals to develop, for example, social interactions, confidence and self-esteem, behaviour or to compliment the work of other professionals.

• Our Head of School, Phase Leaders, Nursery Manager and SENCO are also our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads which helps to provide a co-ordinated approach to Family Help in school.

Providing family help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later.    

Effective family help relies upon local organisations and agencies working together therefore we liaise with other agencies and people within the local community.

Foodbank – Kidderminster Food Bank, Swan Shopping Centre 07469216904

Best Start Family Hub – Courses and Groups, Stay and Play, Workshop and Courses

Brookside Family Hub, Borrington Road, Kidderminster DY10 3ED

Best Start Family Hub – Courses and Groups, Stay and Play, Workshop and Courses

Birchen Coppice Family Hub, Birchen Coppice Primary Academy, Woodbury Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 7JJ

Library

Market Street, Kidderminster, DY10 1AB

Family Help Support Service:
The Early Help Family Support Service is delivered by Worcestershire Children First directly to families permanently living in Worcestershire who have children aged 0-18 years old and need help and support specifically from a Family Support Worker. For more information, please visit:

The Starting Well Partnership offer a range of health services which support both children and families experiencing a range of health issues.

If your child is under 5 years old and you need advice on issues such as feeding, behaviour, or toileting you can contact the Telephone Advisory Service on 0300 123 9551

(Monday – Friday 9am til 3pm).

A Health Visitor will assist you over the phone with any worries, concerns, or questions you have.

School health nurses offer a range of services such as home visits, health needs assessments, time4u drop-in service, school aged hearing and national child measurement programme to support the needs of children and their families.

Chat health is a free and confidential text service for young people in need of advice or support
TO CONFIDENTIALY CONTACT YOUR SCHOOL NURSE, TEXT: 07507331750

Social Prescribers support you to take control of your health and look after yourself by making connections with the different types of community support available.

CAMHS

Kooth is an online mental wellbeing community which offers free, safe, and anonymous support.

The Reach4Wellbeing team promotes positive wellbeing to reduce the stigma of mental health by providing short-term group programmes for children and young people age 5-18 experiencing mild to moderate anxiety and low mood.

Papyrus can offer suicide prevent support providing free and confidential helplines, advice, webchats, and resources.

NHS Healthy Minds

Winstons Wish provide support for children and young people following the death of a sibling, parent, or a person important to a child.

Worcestershire County Council

WISH offer friendly and non-judgemental specialist services to support with information and advice, contraception, pregnancy, STIs and screening. 

Under 21 Saturday Service - Clinic telephone lines are open between 10:00am – 12:30pm on Saturdays - Please call: 01905 681673 for further details.

Young People have a telephone consultation and are asked questions about their relationships. Callers will be advised what to do next and directed towards a clinic if necessary.

WISH have a dedicated Outreach nursing service.  Referral forms can be found at www.knowyourstuff.nhs.uk   The Outreach team see young and vulnerable people who couldn’t otherwise access sexual health services.

Free STI test kits and contraception

If you are concerned your child or a child, you know is being bullied there are several services and useful links which can help you support your child as a parent.

In the first instance if bullying is happening at school, please speak to a member of staff who will be able to help.

The following links will provide you with more information if you or someone you know is being bullied:
Anti-Bullying (worcestershire.gov.uk)

Helping Children Deal with Bullying & Cyberbullying | NSPCC

https://www.kidscape.org.uk/resources-and-publications/

If you have concerns around the safety of your child or a child you know online, the following links will provide you with information, support, and advice to help understand the risks and keep your child safe online:

• https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/
• Online safety | Barnardo's (barnardos.org.uk)
• http://educateagainsthate.com/
• internetmatters.org
• https://www.bbc.com/ownit/the-basics/8-tips-for-staying-safe-online

Sexting is the sending or receiving of sexually explicit images, videos or conversations online.
Sexting and sending nudes | NSPCC
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/Nude-selfies-a-parents-guide/

The following services and links offer information, advice, and intervention on healthy relationships for your family and children:

Healthy relationships | NSPCC

Challenges at home: Harmony at Home | Worcestershire County Council

CRUSH is an awareness raising and support programme to help young people make safe and healthy relationships. Children and Young People Services | West Mercia Women's Aid (westmerciawomensaid.org)

Virtual Family Hub | Worcestershire County Council

Friendships and relationship in teenagers

Making friends and starting new relationships are a big part of getting older. It's very common to fall out with friends or break up from relationships – which can be very difficult to deal with. You might also be in a relationship that doesn't feel right and need some advice about what to do. The websites below contain lots of information about making friends, peer pressure, healthy and unhealthy relationships, sex and much more. There is also information available for parents around how to talk to your child about friendships, sex and relationships.

Childline - Friends, relationships and sex (opens in a new window)

DCSFtalktoyourchild.pdf (www.nhs.uk)

If you are looking for information or advice the following links will help you:

SEND Local Offer | Worcestershire County Council or contact localoffer@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk

SEND Information, Advice, Support Service SENDIASS Worcestershire and Herefordshire (hwsendiass.co.uk)

Social care support for children with disabilities | Worcestershire County Council

School specific SEND information can be found on our SEND and Inclusion page.

The Online Family Hub has been developed to provide you with a range of different types of resources that are available to you online, on the phone or face to face that you can access directly.

The Family Hub can offer you support and information with the challenge’s family life can bring.

Virtual Family Hub | Worcestershire County Council

To download this booklet, please visit: Early Help in Worcestershire - Support for Families

Worcestershire Young Carers aim to identify, and support children and young people aged 7 to 24 years who have a caring role within the home and help look after a parent, sibling, or grandparent due to illness, disability, physical or mental health difficulties or substance misuse.

Worcestershire Young Carers/Shropshire Young Carers | YSS

Young Carers and Young Adult Carers | Worcestershire County Council

If you are facing challenges around employment and income, please contact the local job centre who can with offer support with jobseekers’ allowance, incapacity benefit, employment and support allowance and income support:

Local Job Centre Plus,

Worcester Job Centre Plus, Haswell House, Sansome Street, Worcester, WR1 1UZ

Telephone: 0845 6043719

Citizen’s Advice Bureau Worcester Citizens Advice – Worcester Citizens Advice Bureau and WHABAC (Worcester Housing and Benefits Advice Centre) (citizensadviceworcester.org.uk)

For information on what financial and housing support is available in Worcestershire, please visit:
Parenting, health and wellbeing, housing and relationship support | Worcestershire County Council

The Starting Well Partnership offer a range of parenting support, information, groups, and courses. For information on the groups available please visit: Parenting groups | Starting Well (startingwellworcs.nhs.uk)

Parenting Talk is an online hub offering information, advice, and a free confidential online chat with a parenting advisor.
Parent Talk - Support for Parents from Action For Children

Homestart can work with you to provide one to one support in the family home each week. This service provides support tailored to your needs and can help you as parents they learn to cope and build confidence to provide as best you can for your children.
Home-Start | South Worcestershire (home-startsw.org.uk)

Family Information Service

Do you need advice and support around finding childcare? The following link will provide you with guidance: Childcare | Worcestershire County Council

Swanswell - Cranstoun

Here 4 Youth is support service for children and young people up to the age of 18 who may be struggling with their use of drug and / or alcohol. Here4YOUth Worcestershire - Cranstoun  

Do you have a family member in prison which is having an impact on your child? Support is available to work with both the person in prison and your family.
NICCO

Families First provides support and guidance in a safe space, to enable the whole family to cope with the demands of having a partner, and parent, in prison: About Us | YSS

If you are worried your child is at risk of being tricked, forced, or made to work in the criminal world please speak to a member of staff and visit Get Safe for help and information:

What is get safe? | Worcestershire County Council