Early Help Offer

At Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College we recognise the challenges that families face in bringing up children. There may be times when you need extra help and support. If this is the case, please come and talk to us. There are many ways in which we can help as outlined in this offer of early help. We can also help to plan specific support for families where we can work together to set and achieve outcomes.

The diagram below shows the range of needs at different levels. We use this graduated approach to make sure we provide the best support for different families’ individual situations.

Map of Early Help Levels

Providing early help to our students and families at Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College means we are more effective in promoting support as soon as we can. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to teenage years.

Safeguarding Contacts

No child should suffer harm, either at home or college. Everyone who works in our college has a responsibility to make sure all our young people are safe.

If you are worried about the safety of any young person in our college you must report this to the Designated Safeguard Lead member if staff or the college Headteacher.

Safeguarding contacts

Early Help can support children and their families who may be struggling with:

  • Routines and family rules 
  • Families who may be not be eating healthy food
  • Keeping to a healthy lifestyle
  • Children who are caring for a family member 
  • Children who may not want to go to school for different reasons
  • Disability within the family including children being a young carer 
  • Children in the family have special educational needs (SEND)
  • Children who may becoming involved in anti-social or criminal behaviour 
  • Children who go missing from home
  • Children or parents / carers misusing drugs or alcohol 
  • Children at risk of being tricked, forced, or made to work in the criminal world 
  • Children who may need support because they may live in a home and see drug or alcohol abuse or adult mental health problems.
  • Children who have parents who argue a lot (and sometimes might hurt each other) whether the parents live together or apart.
  • Children at risk of being groomed to join groups which support illegal views
  • A privately fostered child (a child from another family living within your family home)

Early help relies upon local groups and people in the community, sometimes we work together to help children, young people, and their families. 

Everyone needs help at some time in their lives and therefore an ethos of early help is important for any school.  Below you will find a list of support we can offer in our school:

List of support we offer in school.

Local Services

Family Hub

www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20643/the_family_hub 

Youth and Community Centre

Warndon Youth and Community Centre, Shap Dr, Warndon, Worcester WR4 9NX 

St. John’s Youth Centre, Swanpool Walk, St John’s, Worcester WR2 4EL 

Perdiswell Young People’s Leisure Club, Worcester WR3 7SN

Early Help Family Support

www.worcestershire.gov.uk/earlyhelpfamilysupport

Library

The Hive, Sawmill Cl, The Butts, Worcester WR1 3PD

www.thehiveworcester.org/

Foodbank

Worcester Food Bank, 7 Lowesmoor Wharf, Worcester WR1 2RF

worcester.foodbank.org.uk/ 

The Front Door to Children’s Services

If a member of staff, parent/carer or member of the public thinks a child or young person is at immediate risk of significant harm they should contact the Family Front Door (FFD) – 01905 822 666 or in an emergency always call 999.Do not wait to discuss this with the DSL/DDSL but do report it afterwards.

Safeguarding children | Worcestershire County Council 

Sporting Opportunities in Worcester

Sporting Opportunities link

Early Help Family Support Service:

The Early Help Family Support Service is delivered by Worcestershire Children First directly to families permanently living in Worcestershire who have children aged 0-18 years old and need help and support specifically from a Family Support Worker. For more information, please visit: Worcestershire Children First Early Help Family Support Service | Worcestershire County Council

Health (including mental health, emotional wellbeing, and sexual health)

The Starting Well Partnership offers a range of health services which support both children and families experiencing a range of health issues.

Worcestershire Health Visiting Service | Starting Well (startingwellworcs.nhs.uk)
If your child is under 5 years old and you need advice on issues such as feeding, behaviour, or toileting you can contact the Telephone Advisory Service on 0300 123 9551 (Monday – Friday 9am til 3pm). A Health Visitor will assist you over the phone with any worries, concerns, or questions you have.

School Health Nursing | Starting Well (startingwellworcs.nhs.uk)
School health nurses offer a range of services such as home visits, health needs assessments, time4u drop-in service, school aged hearing and national child measurement programme to support the needs of children and their families. 

Text service supporting young people | Starting Well (startingwellworcs.nhs.uk)
Chat health is a free and confidential text service for young people in need of advice or support
To confidentially contact your school nurse, text: 07507331750

Social Prescribing: Onside Advocacy, Worcestershire (onside-advocacy.org.uk)
Social Prescribers support you to take control of your health and look after yourself by making connections with the different types of community support available. 

CAMHS | Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (hacw.nhs.uk)
CAMHS provides mental health help to children, young people and their families across Herefordshire and Worcestershire 

Home – Kooth
Kooth is an online mental wellbeing community which offers free, safe, and anonymous support. 

Reach 4 Wellbeing | Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (hacw.nhs.uk)
The Reach4Wellbeing team promotes positive wellbeing to reduce the stigma of mental health by providing short-term group programmes for children and young people age 5-18 experiencing mild to moderate anxiety and low mood.

Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide (papyrus-uk.org)
Papyrus can offer suicide prevent support providing free and confidential helplines, advice, webchats, and resources.

Home | Healthy Minds (whct.nhs.uk)

Healthy Minds’ 24/7 mental health helpline provides support or advice if you, or someone you know, is experiencing a mental health crisis and needs urgent help. Its available 24 hours a day to anyone in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Winston’s Wish – giving hope to grieving children (winstonswish.org)
Winston’s Wish provide support for children and young people following the death of a sibling, parent, or a person important to a child.

Sexual Health Know Your Stuff | Sexual health | Worcestershire County Council
Worcestershire Integrated Sexual Health Service (WISH) | Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (hacw.nhs.uk)
WISH offer friendly and non-judgemental specialist services to support with information and advice, contraception, pregnancy, STIs and screening.  

Under 21 Saturday Service – Clinic telephone lines are open between 10:00am – 12:30pm on Saturdays – Please call: 01905 681673 for further details.

Young People have a telephone consultation and are asked questions about their relationships. Callers will be advised what to do next and directed towards a clinic if necessary.

WISH have a dedicated Outreach nursing service.  Referral forms can be found at www.knowyourstuff.nhs.uk. The Outreach team see young and vulnerable people who couldn’t otherwise access sexual health services.

Free STI test kits and contraception: SH:24 Free Home STI STD Test | Sexual & Reproductive Health (sh24.org.uk) 

Bullying (including Cyberbullying)

If you are concerned your child or a child, you know is being bullied there are several services and useful links which can help you support your child as a parent.

In the first instance if bullying is happening at school, please speak to a member of staff who will be able to help.

The following links will provide you with more information if you or someone you know is being bullied:

Online Safety 

If you have concerns around the safety of your child or a child you know online, the following links will provide you with information, support, and advice to help understand the risks and keep your child safe online:

Sexting is the sending or receiving of sexually explicit images, videos or conversations online.

Relationships

The following services and links offer information, advice, and intervention on healthy relationships for your family and children: 

Challenges at home: Harmony at Home – information and support for parent carers | Worcestershire County Council 

CRUSH is an awareness raising and support programme to help young people make safe and healthy relationships. http://www.westmerciawomensaid.org/crush/

Friendships and relationship in teenagers 

Making friends and starting new relationships are a big part of getting older. It’s very common to fall out with friends or break up from relationships – which can be very difficult to deal with. You might also be in a relationship that doesn’t feel right and need some advice about what to do. The websites below contain lots of information about making friends, peer pressure, healthy and unhealthy relationships, sex and much more. There is also information available for parents around how to talk to your child about friendships, sex and relationships. 

SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities)

Screenshot of Family Hub website with buttons for Parenting support, Health and wellbeing, SEND Local Offer and Housing and finances
  • The Online Family Hub has been developed to provide you with a range of different types of resources that are available to you online, on the phone or face to face that you can access directly.
  • The Family Hub can offer you support and information with the challenge’s family life can bring.
  • The Family Hub | Worcestershire County Council

  • Early Help in Worcestershire have created a booklet to help families find out about the help and support available in the county for children and young people aged 0-18 years old. The new booklet will help you and families find the most appropriate support. 
  • To download this booklet, please visit: The Family Hub | Worcestershire County Council

Worcestershire Young Carers

Finance, Housing and Employment

Parenting Support

Family Information Service Do you need advice and support around finding childcare? The following link will provide you with the contact details of the Family Information Service’s District Teams: Family Information Service | Worcestershire County Council

Substance Misuse

Do you have a family member in prison? 

  • Do you have a family member in prison which is having an impact on your child? Support is available to work with both the person in prison and your family.
  • NICCO
  • Families First provides support and guidance in a safe space, to enable the whole family to cope with the demands of having a partner, and parent, in prison: Families First | YSS 

Get Safe

  • If you are worried your child is at risk of being tricked, forced, or made to work in the criminal world please speak to a member of staff and visit Get Safe for help and information.

If you are experiencing any of these challenges or issues affecting family life, please contact a member of staff who will be happy to provide you further advice and support.

School Nurse Team

Click here for the link to complete a referral to the school nursing service

BEOCC-Early-Help-Offer-2021-2022-2Download
BEOCC-Early-Help-Assessment-Guidance-Download

Early-Help-in-Worcestershire-Booklet

The Family Hub – Support for families

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