'There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few we can solve by ourselves.'

What is Early Help?

Early help is about working with our families to improve the outcomes for children. Providing timely support when a problem arises is vital. Identifying and addressing a child or family's needs early on can increase protective factors that positively influence a child’s wellbeing, and decrease risk factors that may be impacting a child’s life negatively.

A Home Visit for Every Child

It is important for a child to meet their teacher or key person for the first time in an environment where the child and parents feel safe and happy. This is also an ideal opportunity to start to forge positive relationships with parents so they feel confident to ask for help when required.

Health Visitor

Someone from the health visiting service for ‘School Readiness’ is available in our nursery regularly to offer advice and support.  The health visitor can signpost parents to resources about managing toilet training, behaviour, good sleep routines, fussy eating, and dental health. If parents have any concerns about their child’s development the health visitor can make referrals to other services quickly to ensure a child receives the right support at the right time. 

Special Educational Needs workshops and coffee mornings.

The school's SEND lead organises coffee mornings for parents so they have opportunities to discuss their child and learn about the local SEND offer. 

Pastoral Support and Emotion Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)

We have two members of staff in school who have been trained to support children’s emotional health and wellbeing. They work closely with families to ensure a child's emotional needs are met. 

Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP)

The school has an attached EMHP who supports the whole school Mental Health strategy. She visits school weekly to meet with the school's Mental Health Lead to discuss referrals or meet with parents. We are part of Future in Mind which provides schools in Telford with relevant training, so we can better support children and their families to manage their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Other professionals

We work closely with other professionals such as the Educational Psychology service to provide a solution focused problem solving model for children in crisis.

Attendance monitoring

Poor attendance can often be a sign that a child and their family need support. Monitoring attendance weekly helps us to identify children and families who need support. Our attendance team work with the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) to offer guidance and support.

Signposting through our weekly newsletter

Our weekly communication to parents offers advice and support. Some examples are:

• Beam- Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin wellbeing service
• Telford’s Uniform Project
• Holy Trinity Church food bank

Identify disadvantaged families.

We identify our families on a low income as soon as children start our nursery or school so we can ensure they have the right help at the right time.

For more information and advice, click on the images below.