Early Help at Timberley Academy
At Timberley Academy staff are committed to and know the benefit of Early Help as a way of supporting families and young people before their needs become acute and social care or other specialist intervention may be necessary.
If you feel you need further support from school please contact the school office.
The school has a range of robust safeguarding procedures in place which puts the safety and protection of children at the heart of any decisions.
The school’s safeguarding team is made up of the following staff
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) –Mrs C Harris
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL)
Miss M Hunter
Mr S Kinsman
Mr I Griffiths
Mrs D Lawrence
Mrs L Nicholls
Behaviour and Wellbeing – Miss L Russell
Bereavement and Mental Health- Miss K Tresigne
ASD Lead Practitioner- Mrs M Chester
The DSL and all DDSLs complete inter-agency safeguarding training on a two yearly programme. All other school staff complete safeguarding training on a yearly basis and are updated regularly to any changes in legislation.
Reporting Concerns
If any member of school suspects that a child may be at risk of harm or who has been harmed they will report the incident through My Concern, out reporting system.. The email is received by all members of the safeguarding team. Staff are expected to report a concern as soon as possible through the reporting system. If a member of staff believes that a child is at risk of or has been subjected to significant harm then this must be reported immediately via email and then in person to either the school’s DSL or one of the DDSLs.
The primary aim of the school’s Early Help systems is to try to intervene early with families before it gets to the stage when a child may be at risk of harm.
Involvement of Families
The school will always involve the family in all Early Help strategies and will seek consent before a plan is put in place.. The school will aim to work with families in a supportive, non-judgemental way so that trust is built up and the best possible outcomes achieved.
There are occasions, however, when the school’s safeguarding team or member of school staff may believe that a child may be at immediate risk of significant harm and that by informing the parents/carers of the concern may put the child at further risk. In these cases the school will implement section 47 procedures. This will involve an immediate referral to social care without the parents/carers knowledge.
School Indicators for Children or Families That May Require Early Help
The following list provides examples of areas where, without intervention a family may break down or a child may be put a risk of neglect, emotional, physical or sexual harm. This also includes the risk of extremism. The school has no pre-prescribed criteria for supporting children and families. Each case is assessed according to needs and a bespoke programme put in place for that child and/or family:
Following the identification of a family who may require Early Help the school will seek to gain consent from the family to engage with the services who may be best placed to support them. This will may involve support from the Local Early Help support team who will work with the school to assess the needs of the family and to complete a 'My Assessment' this may also include a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting and the creation of a family My Plan Plus.
The levels of needs for each family is assessed on an individual basis and different levels of services can be accessed as a result. These may include the following:
Universal – All children
Universal Plus
Additional Needs
Drugs and Alcohol Support
Complex or Significant Needs