Early Help
🛡️ Early Help and Support for Families
At Etwall Primary, the safety and wellbeing of our children is our highest priority.
We are committed to working in partnership with families to provide Early Help support where it is needed.
Early Help means offering support as soon as a concern emerges—at any point in a child’s life—to help prevent issues from becoming more serious. Our aim is to work alongside families to ensure that children are safe, happy and able to thrive both in school and at home.
Our lead member of staff for Early Help and Support for Families is Nikki Carter.
🤝 Our approach
When working with families, we aim to:
- ✔ Build on family strengths, taking time to understand each family’s individual circumstances
- ✔ Offer early, practical support to prevent concerns from developing further
- ✔ Respond in a way that is flexible, timely and appropriate
- ✔ Support children and families to develop resilience and confidence
- ✔ Work with professionals and services that are best placed to help
We believe that strong relationships, open communication and offering help at the right time make a real difference.
🌟 What we aim to achieve
Through Early Help support, we aim for:
👧 Children and young people to:
- Be safe, healthy and emotionally supported
- Enjoy learning and achieve their potential
- Feel supported by both their family and wider community
- Know who they can talk to if they need help
👨👩👧 Parents and carers to:
- Feel supported and informed
- Have trusted relationships with school and other professionals
- Feel confident in supporting their child’s development
- Know where to go for advice and help when needed
🔍 Identifying when support may be needed
Our staff work closely with children and families every day and are well placed to notice when additional support may be helpful.
All staff:
- Receive regular safeguarding training
- Understand their role in identifying concerns early
- Record any concerns using our secure reporting system
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and deputy DSLs review any concerns and decide whether additional support or Early Help may be appropriate.
📝 How support is provided
Where Early Help is identified, we may:
- Speak with parents/carers to understand the situation fully
- Agree next steps and identify the most appropriate support
- Complete an Early Help Assessment, where appropriate
- Arrange meetings (such as Team Around the Family) to coordinate support
- Work with external agencies who can offer specialist help
Support is reviewed regularly to ensure it is making a positive difference. If concerns change or increase, further action may be taken to ensure a child’s safety.
🤝 Working with other services
We recognise that families may benefit from support from a range of services. We therefore work closely with:
- Health services and school nursing
- Specialist community advisors
- CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
- Police Community Support Officers
- Local authority services, including Children’s Services
Our role is often to guide families to the right support, as well as to work alongside other professionals when needed.
🏫 Support in school
Some support may also be provided in school. For example:
- Our ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) works with children and families where appropriate
- Staff provide ongoing pastoral support and check-ins
- We ensure children always have a trusted adult they can talk to
💬 Working in partnership with families
We understand that asking for support can sometimes feel difficult. Our approach is always to:
- Work openly and respectfully with families
- Keep parents informed wherever appropriate
- Focus on achieving the best outcomes for children
In most cases, we will always discuss any support with parents and carers first.
📄 Further support and information
There is a wide range of support available to families through Derbyshire’s Early Help services. We can help signpost or refer families to the most suitable services for their needs.
If you would like to talk to someone or are concerned about your child, please contact the school office in confidence and they will direct you to the most appropriate member of staff.
🛑 Our commitment
Our priority is to ensure that:
- All children feel safe, supported and valued
- Families are offered help at the earliest opportunity
- Concerns are addressed quickly, appropriately and professionally
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and we are committed to working together to keep all children safe.