Family Support
Parent Link Worker
Emma Ottaway is our Parent Link Worker. In this role she plays an important part in the relationship between home and school in supporting families on a wide variety of issues. She work closely with year group teams, colleagues and outside agencies to help others to understand children’s needs as well as those of parents/carers. Emma is available on a Monday to Friday from 08:45am - 12:00pm.
The aims of her work as a PLW are:
- To engage and build good working relationships with parents, children and colleagues working within school and with other agencies;
- To work holistically and effectively with parents in ways that will improve their children's well-being;
- To provide relevant information about, and signpost access to appropriate support services and opportunities that support parents and families;
- To support families with attendance;
- To offer and deliver parenting support courses for groups and one-to-one support.
If you would like to book a time to discuss any concerns or just have a discussion with Emma, please contact the school office on 01604 637056 and she will get back to you when she can.
Pupil Premium and Free School Meals
The 'Pupil Premium Grant' is additional school funding to support families who are in receipt of specific benefits. It is paid directly to your child's school to improve the quality of their education. School can use this money in a variety of ways to support your child's education as well as wider school needs such as support with trips, music lessons and uniform costs. The child must be living with the person applying for this. All children, regardless of benefits, in reception, year 1 and year 2 automatically get free school meals (this isn't something you apply for). You still need to apply for pupil premium funding separately to this in order for the school to gain additional funding to benefit your child. If your child is in year 3 or above, you will need to apply for free school meals.
In order to apply and see whether or not you are eligible, simply click on the link below and fill out the online form. If you need any support with this, please contact Louise Thomas or the school office, who will be happy to assist with this.
Early Help Assessment (EHA)
The EHA is a simple way to help identify the needs of children and families and make a plan to meet those needs. Its purpose is to provide a co-ordinated response so no-one misses out on the support they need. It is used by all agencies in Northamptonshire who are delivering early help to the families they work with.
The EHA can be used to support children and young people between 0 to 19 years, including unborn babies, and can also be used with consent up to the age of 24 (where a young person has a learning difficulty or disability).
Bereavment
Please find below some useful website links for advice on bereavement. There are also some useful books for children:
- Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine by Diana Crosseley
- The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers
- Badger's Parting Gifts
The book trust: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/g/grief-and-loss-5-8-year-olds/
Health
You and your child/children’s health are very important and being registered with your local health services is essential in order to maintain good health. You should take your child to the GP with health concerns you may have. It is recommended that your children have regular dental and optician appointments too. The school nursing team can also help with a range of issues both physical and emotional, such as: low moods, bed wetting and eating difficulties. Please contact the team directly on 0300 1111 022 option 4 or contact Louise Thomas within school who can support with this
- Headlice can be extremely difficult to get rid of- it is very important to stop them from spreading and prevent your child’s head become very sore. Please click on this website for some useful hints and tips on how to get rid of them: Headlice Advice
- Registering with a GP
- Free Dental Entitlement Advice
- Option Advice: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/opticians/
Mental Health and well-being
It is really important that we look after our mental health, just as much as our physical health. As adults it is important that we support our children to develop emotionally and part of that is taking extra care of ourselves.
If you feel things are getting a little too much, you fill in a questionnaire on First for Wellbeing and they will signpost you to the best services that could offer extra support. Have a look on the website for more information.
You may have already heard of CAMHS – they are Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service run through the NHS. Each county has its own CAMHS. They are a specialist service for children and young people who have severe, enduring and complex mental health difficulties. For more information on CAMHS please look at their website.
ASK Normen is a great website to access advice on mental health difficulties and discover services to support with this. It is full of lots of information for a variety of ages. Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families also has lots of support on how to talk about mental health with your child.
Hey Sigmund is a great website for some easy reading and different ideas on how to cope with things like anxiety. The articles relate to everyday life and often make you realise you are not alone.
Head Space is available online or via an app on your phone/tablet. It’s easy format follows you daily, helping you to find a clearer head space. It is available for children or adults. Might even be good to do with your child.
Sleep solutions can help families who may be finding supporting their child into a good sleep pattern really difficult. You may feel a little lost about what to do next. The service specialises in children who are having sleep difficulties due to underlining SEN. Please speak to Becky Lee if you want to know and how school could help refer you to Sleep Solutions for extra support.
Family Support
Below are some useful guides and websites that help cover a variety of parenting difficulties and challenges you may face as a family.
The 'Positive Parenting Guide' is a guide put together by the NSPCC:
Family Lives is a useful website, offering advice and information across a variety of areas impacting a daily life:
Is your child ready to be left alone? The NSPCC have put a guide together of different things you should consider if you are thinking about leaving your child home alone.