Early Help

At Ironville and Codnor Park Primary School we pride ourselves on the Early Help we provide to all families in our school.

We offer this support in various ways through our Take Care Team and our Family Support Team. 

Through our Take Care Team if any child is struggling we will, as a team, put some support in place to best meet the individual needs of the child. This can be additional support in the classroom, Emotional and Literacy Support (ELSA), Positive Play and nurture are just some of the support offered. Our Take Care Team consists of the school SENCO, ELSA and Nurture Lead and Family Support Workers. 

Our Family Support Team offer support to all families and will lead assessments and plans to make sure the right support is in place for the whole family and not just the children in school. This can be done through Early Help Assessments (EHA) and Team around the Family (TAF) plans. 

An assessment may be needed to enable us to put the right support in place and signpost the families to relevant agencies such as the Early Help Team,  health, counselling, domestic abuse services and the food bank (there are many more).  This is to support all individual needs, put an effective plan in place for the whole family, encourage all individuals to reach their full potential and help improve family life. 

We find that everyone needs support from time to time and will struggle to cope with day to day situations. As a Family Support Team we endeavour to provide low level support such as behaviour management, finances, relationship breakdowns, housing and offer information and guidance on strategies to support with parenting (and any other struggles you may have).  We will also assist in more challenging situations such as mental health, alcohol and substance misuse and domestic abuse. 

The Family Support Team are the workers who support with all child protection and safeguarding concerns and attend all safeguarding meetings.  Sometimes a referral may be needed to social care. 

We use a child centred and co-ordinated approach to safeguarding, child centric and child first. 

Please come and speak to us if you are concerned about anything or if you are struggling. No struggle is too big or too small. We will help and assist in any way we can. 

Take Care

Who is in the Take Care team?

Angie Bourne (SENCO and MHFA - Youth)

Karen Sharpe (Family Support Worker and MHFA - Adult)

Julie Coulston (Family Support Worker)

Lindsey Hosie (ELSA and MHFA - Youth)

MHFA - Mental Health First Aider

ELSA - Emotional Literacy Support Assistant

SENCO - Special Educational Needs Coordinator

What is Take Care?

Take Care is a system through which staff can raise concerns about any child in the school. It is an early intervention process designed to make sure that effective communication about a child’s needs takes place and that effective and co-ordinated support to meet their needs is planned and implemented. There is system to review the effectiveness of provision and to change and develop support through a ‘plan, do, review’ cycle. The overall aim to is to ensure that any child who requires support at a particular point in time has their needs considered, and that no child’s individual needs are ‘missed’. Some children referred to Take Care may have lots of support in place already, but staff may be concerned about a particular aspect of the child’s development or a particular incident that has taken place. Some children referred have had no previous additional support in school.

How does the system work?

A team comprising of a Social, Emotional and Mental Health Specialist TA, the School Child and Family Support Worker, and the Special Needs Co-ordinator meet at least once per month. Anyone who works in school can refer a child to these meetings. They do this by completing a referral form and handing to one of the team members. The team will discuss the child’s needs and plan action and support . They will work with other staff and professionals from outside the school to ensure that the action and support takes place. The child’s progress will be reviewed at subsequent meetings and further support will be planned if necessary. Feedback is given to all staff via a Take Care action plan after every meeting. The impact of the support and action upon the child’s academic progress and their social and emotional wellbeing is tracked by the Take Care team.

What sort of support might be arranged for a child?

The referrals made to Take Care are wide ranging; worries about bullying, concerns about learning progress, an increase in detentions, concerns about self-care and many more. Therefore, the support arrangements agreed are individual to the child. Support offered could include:

• Referral to other services e.g. Educational Psychologist;
• Positive Play;
• ELSA;
• Nurture Group;
• Early Help assessments- provide an early help package;
• Meeting with parents;
• Learning Interventions;
• Individual behaviour plan;
• Risk assessment;
• Anti-bullying team;
• Child and Family Support Worker involvement;
• Applications for additional funding from the Local Authority.

If you have any concerns please speak to our Family Support Workers.

Alternatively, please contact the School SENCO by telephone on 01773 602936, or by email.

Mrs Angie Bourne SENCO  abourne@ironvilleodnorpark.derbyshire.sch.uk