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Early Help

There are times when children, young people and families need extra help. Someone might offer this to you, but other times you might want to ask for it. The following information is taken directly from the Local authority website Family Information | Early Help service (leicester.gov.uk)

What is early help?

Early help is a way of getting extra support when your 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.

Help can come from all kinds of services and organisations who work together to support your family. You might be using some of these services already, but we want to make sure they are providing the right support for you and your family’s needs.

Why would I seek early help?

It could be that you’re worried about your child’s health, development or behaviour, or perhaps because you are caring for a disabled child. Maybe your child is affected by domestic abuse, drugs or alcohol. Perhaps your child is a carer for other people.

Who do I ask?

Have a chat with a teacher, health professional or support worker – they can help you look at what types of support are available and who might be able to help. You can also make the request for an Early Help Assessment yourself. Your local children, young people and families centre also has lots of services and support for families with children, some especially for children with extra needs.

What sort of services or help do I get?

It depends on what you need and might include services you already get. We will agree it with you and make sure it all joins up. Here’s just a few examples:

• Education and Early Learning Schools, Stay and play, Talking Toddlers, Peekaboo, Bookstart Corner, Let’s get cooking
• Family and young people support Youth support, Parenting groups, Drop-in sessions, Domestic violence support, Groups for male carers/dads, Behaviour
• Advice and welfare Education welfare Housing advice Benefits advice Adult learning
• Health Health visitor, midwifery, school nurse, drop in clinics, GPs

What happens if I ask for an early help assessment?

You will be fully involved and we will listen to you. It may be that we just talk to you and point you to the support you want.

If it’s a bit more complicated, we’ll need to ask you for information that we write down or type. This is so we can get the right information and share it (if you agree) with people who need to know, so we can better understand your circumstances and match up services that would help you out the most. You’ll get a plan showing what you want to achieve and the support you need.

Can I say no to an early help assessment?

Yes you can. But we would like to stay in contact with you in case your circumstances alter or you change your mind.

Does it mean social services will get involved?

No. If in the future your circumstances change and it becomes a possibility, we will keep you involved and work with you so that you understand what is happening and why.

What happens when I stop receiving early help services?

We want you to become confident and able to find your own solutions and take responsibility for your family. You can continue to use all services that are open to families and children, and if your needs change then please ask us for further help if you need it

Our Early Help offer at West Gate School

Here at West Gate we know that family life can sometimes be tough, especially when you have a child with a disability, medical condition or SEND needs. We want to be able to support your chid to thrive and sometimes that means supporting you too! Our parent link worker is adept at helping families to access local services and sign posting you to the right place, equally sometimes you might just need a friendly ear! In addition to the universal schools offer and the local authority early help offer (attached below) we offer:

• Regular parent coffee mornings, to address any potential concerns in a friendly supportive environment with free tea, coffee and yummy treats!
• Help and supporting letters to access; Housing, CAMHS Disabled children’s service (short breaks/respite)
• Support liaising or making referrals to external agencies e.g. occupational therapy, Speech and Language therapy, Op Care, Visual and Hearing impairment teams
• Non-judgemental advice and guidance with sign posting to correct services e.g. food banks, domestic abuse charities, Substance misuse support, Money management and debt advice
• Help completing forms such as PIP and DLA
• Support with home to school transport
• Support attending medical appointments for complex and challenging behaviours and mental health conditions
• Support with transitions to school
• Home visits
• Targeted additional support for your child attending West Gate e.g. personal hygiene, online safety, safeguarding awareness.
• Parent course info sent on from Local authority – including first language courses e.g. Hindi, Punjabi etc…
• Attendance at multi-disciplinary meetings acting as an advocate for parents · Early help referrals to the Local authority Make an early help assessment referral (leicester.gov.uk)
• Co-ordinate Communication and PECS support to encourage a consistent home and school approach and empower parents
• Regular clothing access to free school clothing and emergency clothing/packs for families in crisis
• Daily food donations on site outside the reception area at dismissal allow parents who are struggling to get daily access to fresh free food with no stigma – be quick if you want the free baked goods!
• A friendly ear to support you. A first port of call for all concerns across the school day.

How does it work at West Gate?

Its easy!

If you need any help just ring the school on our usual number of 0116 2552187 and ask for our Parent Link Worker Sonia Green. If the concerns are directly related to a pupil rather than wider family issues it may be Lisa Howard our Student Support worker who supports you moving forwards.