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 children’s outcomes.

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

Early Help in Leicester

The vision of all partner organisations working with children and families 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 co-ordinated 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

School Commitments to the Early Help Offer

The following four commitments are the core elements to Linden Primary School’s Early Help Offer.
By implementing these commitments, Linden Primary School aims to ensure:

• Pupils, parent/carers and staff are clear on the Early Help support available through the school
• Clarity for partners, supporting improved multi-agency working
• Delivery approaches of early help support for more vulnerable families is up to date with local offers
• Helps evidence commitment to the personal development and wellbeing strand of the Ofsted Framework.

As part of the Early Help offer, Linden can support families with: 

• Attendance
• Home visits
• Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) visits
• Parenting
• Basic literacy and numeracy skills
• Charitable links
• Nutrition and diet
• Financial guidance
• The school nurse
• Transition 
• School Applications
• Bereavement 
• Mental health and welfare

If you require any support with accesing Early Help, please contact the school office on 0116 2738435 or at office@linden.leicester.sch.uk. 

Click on the image below to access the links for the Leicester City Early Help Offer.

 

Click here for Leicester Children Centre's Facebook page.