Family Support and Early Help
Family Support Worker and Pastoral Support Team
At Broad Oak Primary, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional pastoral care for every child and family. Our goal is to remove barriers to learning and create a nurturing environment where all children can flourish and achieve their full potential. We are fortunate to have a dedicated full-time Family Support Worker, Mrs Kelly Dytham, who works closely with families to offer guidance and support.
Pastoral Support Team
Our Family Support Worker is supported in their role by Mrs Alex Sutton, our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO), along with Mrs Jane Taylor and Miss Elise Hodson, who deliver nurture and life-skills support.
Early Help
At Broad Oak Primary, we believe that every child deserves the best start in life. Sometimes families need a little extra support, and we are here to help. Our Early Help Offer provides guidance and assistance at the earliest opportunity to prevent small concerns from becoming bigger challenges.
Early Help is about working together with families to identify needs and provide support as soon as possible. This can include emotional, social, behavioural or practical help for children and their families.
How Can We Help?
We offer:
- Listening and Advice – A safe space for parent/ carers to talk about concerns and explore options of support available. Appointments can be done face to face or over the phone.
- Emotional Wellbeing Support – 1:1 or small group sessions in school which could be a single session or a planned programme. Consent from parent/carers and the child is needed for these.
- Signposting and Referrals to External Agencies – for example, Children and Family Wellbeing Service, Barnardo's, Play therapy/ counselling, CAMHS, Children and Young People Wellbeing Practitioners, Primary Mental Heath Worker consultations, School Nurse, Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapy, Special Educational Needs support services, Parenting Support, Children's Social Care etc
- Support for Attendance and Learning – Support in identifying barriers to learning and working with teaching staff, SENDCO, attendance team and external support teams i.e. Inclusion Hub, LCC School Attendance Support Workers etc
- Links to Community Services – for example, Food Bank, Penwortham Care and Share Clothes and Toy Bank, Job Club, Youth Groups, Housing etc
Early Help Assessment
Sometimes children and their families may face additional challenges and need extra support. When this happens, working together with different services is often the most effective way to make sure a family gets the help they need.
In Lancashire, this support is coordinated through an Early Help Assessment. This is a process to identify family needs and create a support plan, using a tool called 'Your Family's Early Help Assessment' to involve everyone in identifying strengths and challenges, focusing on areas like parenting, health, housing, and education, aiming to provide coordinated support from various professionals without repeating stories, especially for those with complex needs. It involves open conversation, consent for information sharing, and results in an 'Early Help Plan' to get the right help, often through your school, GP, or a Children & Family Wellbeing Service.
https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/practitioners/supporting-children-and-families/
How Can I Access Support?
If you would like early help support, or an informal chat, you can book an appointment with our Family Support Worker, Mrs Kelly Dytham, by calling 01772 749511 or emailing office@broadoak.lancs.sch.uk. Alternatively, you can complete the referral form below and return it to the school office.
Information Leaflets
Helpful Links
Domestic Abuse Support Services Lancashire
Immediate support for all adults and children, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Mental Health Support
Children & Young People Mental Health Self Referral (for low level support)
https://www.lancashiremind.org.uk/
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
Barnardo's Self Referral
The service offers therapeutic one-to-one, group work and counselling support to children and young people aged 5 to 18 (extending to 25 years based on SEN need) within the whole of the Lancashire & South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) area.
My Time To Thrive Referral Link
My Time To Thrive Welcome Pack
Bereavement Support
https://www.childbereavementuk.org/
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/services/child-bereavement-service-general
https://www.cruse.org.uk/understanding-grief/grief-experiences/children-young-people/
Homelessness Support
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/support-for-young-people/homlessness
https://www.preston.gov.uk/article/905/Homelessness-advice-and-assistance