Wellbeing
At Langley Heritage Primary School we understand that from time-to-time family life can have its complications and sometimes families may need some extra help. To support and advise you at such times we have an Early Help Offer. We believe that by working together we can better support children and families.
Sometimes families need support from a wide range of agencies or people, for example, health services, housing services, family support workers, social workers and local police.
As a school, we may signpost a range of services to support families beyond the educational setting.
Early Help services aim to both provide advice and/or intervene where there is evidence of emerging needs with the objective of preventing escalation to higher level services.
As a school we aim to identify support early and to make sure that appropriate plans are put in place. This will require families to work with school staff and other agencies if needed. We will also use existing interventions already in place in school such as ELSA, Family Support, Place 2 Be.
What support do we offer?
Tracey Noctor and Joanne Abercrombie are our Family Support Workers. Marta Cano is our Inclusion / SEND Lead, Becky Sturgess is our Inclusion Teacher and Dereece Green is our Behavior Mentor.
They can offer advice on a range of concerns, or we can signpost parents/carers to other sources of information, help and support
As a school we offer:
- Regular drop in’s / positive behavior support / Voice of the child sessions
- ‘Coffee and Chat’ session each half term where our Family / Inclusion team are available to chat to about any issues over a coffee / tea.All parents and carers are welcome.
- Food Bank vouchers
- School Uniform / Equipment via The Baby Bank
- Signposting to other agencies via Slough Family Servies Slough Information and Services Guide (sloughfamilyservices.org.uk)
What sort of concerns might parents share with us?
A wide range of issues such as boundary setting, domestic abuse, mental health issues, housing concerns, financial worries and debts, morning routines, toilet training, managing screen time, bereavement and loss, cyber bullying - in fact any concerns which you are worried about and that might be having a negative impact on your child.
How will we know when Early Help is needed?
Parents, carers, children and staff may tell us that support is required, or practitioners may identify that there are emerging needs and services might be required, as there are concerns about a child.
We will assess the needs, and this may identify that an Early Help Assessment is needed and the subsequent action that needs to be taken.
How will families be supported through an Early Help Offer?
Children and families will be supported and reviewed through a Multi Agency Referral Form which is currently the assessment process used by the Local Authority.
We can meet informally with parents/carers and children in the first instance, and this can be followed by completing the Multi Agency Referral Form (MARF) if required.
Following our discussion and assessment, families may be supported by a range of professionals from within school and beyond. Team Around the Family (TAF) meetings may be held in school to look at what is working well, what needs to change and to agree some action that needs to be taken to help and support families. This will always be done with parents/carers' consent.
The lead support worker arranges review meetings and is someone you can speak to at any point.
Gaining children’s views, wishes and feelings is central to our Safeguarding policy, and the support team may also carry out some direct work with children completing ‘Children’s Voice/ Wishes and Feelings’ sheets to discuss any worries, good things and dreams for the future.
An important part of the support team’s work is to escalate concerns where there are no improvements. The school will always follow the Child Protection and Safeguarding policy in this instance. If a child makes a disclosure or if as a school we are concerned about a child’s welfare, we would seek advice from Slough Children First. If a child is at risk of harm, this information may be shared prior to consent being gained.
Our Safeguarding Team
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (Miss Blackmore) and Deputy Safeguarding Leads (Tracey Noctor, Joanne Abercrombie, Mrs Deeks and Ms Lopez) undergo specialist training every two years, with refresher training and updates throughout the year. All other staff members receive annual refresher training at the start of the new school year with updates and refresher training throughout the year.
Here are some of the agencies that we work closely with:
- Educational Psychology
- Slough Borough Council Attendance Service
- SEBDOS
- Place to Be
- Thames Hospice
- Local Police Community Support Officers
- Speech Therapists
- SSSEN service
- GEMS (Autism and ADHD support for Parents / Carers)
- Hearing and Vision Impaired Teams
- Solutions for Health (School Nursing)
- Slough Foodbank
- The Baby Bank
- Getting Help Team
- Early Help Team
- Young Carers
- Turning Point (Drug and Alcohol service)
- Hestia (Domestic Abuse Services)
- Slough Children First
- NSPCC
Hestia (Slough Domestic Abuse Services) is operating via telephone support on 01753 477 352 or 01753 875 620
The support provided locally includes:
- emergency refuge accommodation
- outreach support in the community, including counselling, and self-esteem and confidence building sessions
- dedicated support for children and young people affected by domestic abuse, both those in refuge and in the community
- Help and support in getting a Non-Molestation Order
Place2Be
Place2Be provides child counselling and mental health support in schools, including primary, secondary and all-through schools across England, Scotland and Wales. Children can go to the Place2Be room in school to express themselves by making art, playing or talking.
Each school has a dedicated Place2Be mental health professional who is an integral part of the school team.
They work closely with pupils, families and staff to improve emotional wellbeing and provide mental health support for the whole school.
Local and National Wellbeing Support Directory
- Health and Wellbeing Slough - Home - HWS Slough (healthandwellbeingslough.co.uk)
- SEND Support Slough Information and Services Guide | Help and support (parents, carers - SEND) (sloughfamilyservices.org.uk)
- GEMS Home - Gems4health
- Parenting Special Children Slough Information and Services Guide | Parenting Special Children (sloughfamilyservices.org.uk)
- Slough | Hestia
- Woman’s Aid Home - Women's Aid (womensaid.org.uk)
- Turning Point (Drug and Alcohol Support) Slough treatment, advice and recovery team (START) | Turning Point (turning-point.co.uk)
- Talking Therapies NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies, for anxiety and depression (berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk)
- Parenting Smart Place 2 be Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Articles
- In Our Place (Solihull Approach Free Parenting Courses) inourplace | Solihull Approach | Online courses (Access Code:PARENTING)
- Slough Foodbank | Helping Local People in Crisis
- The Cow Shed (good quality clothing and essentials) The Cowshed | Showing love and support to those in need in Berkshire
- Slough Repair Cafe Home - Slough Anti-Litter Society (sloughantilitter.org.uk)
- Citizens Advice: For advice and support with; benefits, employment, debt & money, housing, energy, relationships & family and discrimination Call Us - Citizens Advice East Berkshire (caeb.org.uk)
- Slough Debt and Welfare Team Slough Information and Services Guide | Debt and Welfare team - Slough Borough Council (sloughfamilyservices.org.uk)
- National Debt Line https://nationaldebtline.org/ Telephone: 0808 808 4000
- Income Support / Universal Credit Income support - Help for Households
- Slough Home and Housing Slough Information and Services Guide | Home and housing (sloughfamilyservices.org.uk)
- Help with Childcare Costs Help with childcare costs - Help for Households
- East Berkshire Safe Haven East Berkshire Safe Haven (mhm.org.uk)
- Slough Children First Home - Slough Children First
- Child Bereavement UK
- Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Articles. As our school is partnered with Place2Be, parents and carers can access their parenting advice site and parenting online course.
- www.childline.org.uk: Childline offer support on the phone at 0800 or online. Whatever your worry, they’re there to help.
- www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone/ - This section of the ChildLine website has breathing exercises, activities, games and videos designed to help children let go of stress.
- CAMHS Getting Help Teams | Children Young People and Families Online Resource
- www.healthforkids.co.uk: This page, run by the NHS, offers fun and practical ideas on how to stay physically and mentally healthy.
- www.annafreud.org/resources/family-wellbeing
- www.kooth.com - Free online counselling for children aged 11+
- mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk - Tips on talking about mental health with your children.
- www.youngminds.org.uk - Support and advice on a range of mental health issues plus a parent helpline 0808 802 5544, Monday - Friday 9:30am - 4:00pm.
- mindedforfamilies.org.uk - Advice and information to help you best support your family’s mental health.
- www.hopeagain.org.uk: Hope Again is the youth website of Cruse Bereavement Support. It is a safe place where children can learn from other young people, how to cope with grief, and feel less alone.
- Supporting your child: Self-harm and Suicide - A guide for parents and carers (PDF)
- www.sportinmind.org/families - This is a Reading-based mental health sports charity that delivers physical activity (sport, walking, dance and movement, gardening and exercise sessions) projects in partnership with the NHS to promote wellbeing. They work in areas outside of Reading including East Berkshire.