We love and care deeply for all our children and their parents and carers.  This means that we build secure and respectful relationships with our young people and their families.  As result, we hope everyone in our St. George’s family (pupils and parents) know that at St. George’s they can talk openly and honestly about any problems or worries they may have and can trust us to do whatever we can do help them.

We pride ourselves in offering a warm welcome to new children and their families when they join the very special St. George’s ‘family’.  Throughout their time with us, as a staff team we are dedicated and committed to giving the right support at the right time, so that all our children and their families can thrive and flourish. 

Our values permeate all aspects of our work with children and their families:  compassion, respect, honesty, responsibility, and forgiveness. 

We know that every family is different and there is no one right way to do things.  We also understand that it is best to work in partnership with families to promote the health, development, and wellbeing of children because parents and carers know their child(ren) best.  It takes courage to ask for extra support or help, and we are always ready to listen to your worries or concerns and will go the extra mile to provide the best help available as quickly as possible. 

What is ‘Early Help’?

The diagram below shows the range of needs at different levels.  These range from a child or family who ‘may’ need some ‘extra or further help or support’ to a child or family feeling ‘in need of serious help’ or school staff ‘feeling really concerned’ about a child and their family.

We use this model to make sure we provide the best support for different families’ situations. Providing ‘Early Help’ to our children and families at school means providing support as soon as difficulties emerge.  By working in partnership with children and their families as early as possible, we aim to prevent situations where families become ‘in need of serious help’ or we as professionals become ‘really concerned’.

The St. George’s Early Help and Safeguarding Team:

As the diagram above shows we have a graduated response, it is therefore important that our Early Help Team has the breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills to identify and respond to any level of need a child or family requires, sensitively, appropriately, and effectively.  All the members of our team have extensive life and personal experience and the professional experience and training they need, to be well-placed to provide additional information and support to our children and their families. 

All members of the team can be contacted via the [email protected] email address, the school phone number (01527 62263) or are available on the school gate at the beginning or end of the school day. In addition to this, individual contact details are available on our safeguarding posters displayed around the school and on the link below called Safeguarding team. 

Our Early Help offer:

We recognise and value the fact that St. George's is a richly diverse community of families and pride ourselves in being flexible, adaptable and creative in helping you find the right solution(s) for you and your situation.

Here are some of the things we have helped families with:

• Applying for benefits
• Bereavement and grief
• Community learning opportunities for adults
• Domestic abuse
• Emotional health and well-being e.g. anxiety, dealing with traumatic events
• Food bank vouchers
• Harmonious relationships at home
• Helping to resolve financial difficulties
• Helping to resolve housing difficulties
• Improving attendance at school
• Adult literacy skills
• Dealing with the challenges of bringing up children in multiple occupancy households
• Obtaining pre-settled status
• Online safety, including use of mobile technology & the use of games & Apps 
• Routines at home e.g. bedtimes, mealtimes, sleep patterns
• Supporting parents in getting the right medical care/treatment for their child
• Supporting improvements in children's behaviour at home
• Serious illness(es) within a family

How can I access the school's Early Help offer?

Come and talk to us!

We know it can be hard to find the courage to do this, but many parents have found that talking to one of us about a difficult situation brings a huge sense of relief and helps them feel 'lighter', more positive and optimistic. Sometimes, someone properly understanding your situation can feel like a present or a gift. 

Once we have all the information about a situation we will work with you to discuss and agree the best solution(s). If we agree that other, more specialist organisations will provide the best support, any onward referrals will be discussed fully with you.

Please also see the links below for other sources of help and our full Early Help Offer.