Early Help at Mickley is all about providing support and resources to our students and families who may be facing challenges. It's about giving the students and their families a helping hand before small worries become a bigger worries and identifying issues early on and offering assistance to help them thrive academically and emotionally. It's a proactive approach to ensure every student and family have the best chance to succeed.

At Mickley we do this by having a Early Help offer and a Pastoral Officer to aid you at such times.

The Department for Education state that, ‘It is more effective to provide early help when problems first arise than to intervene later’.

Pastoral Officer - Miss Leonard

Hello my name is Miss Leonard, I'm the Pastoral Officer at Mickley Village Primary & Nursery School. As part of my job I'm here for our students and their families to make sure every child feels heard and valued, tackling anything that might get in the way of their happiness or learning. I like to think of myself like a bridge between students, teachers, and our families working and to support any bumps in the road whether they're academic, social or personal development. I'm always here to listen, guide and offer help.

My job is about building that trust and being a reliable figure that the children and our families can then turn to.

Our Aims:

Work to families' strengths - especially those of parents and carers and take the time to understand their needs fully.

Focus on preventing problems before they occur and offer flexible responsive support when and where it is required.

Build the resilience of parents, children's, young people and communities to support each other.

Work together across the whole system aligning our resources so we can best support families do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.

Base all that we do on evidence of both what is needed and of what works and be brave enough to stop things that are wrong.

Be clear and consistent about the outcome we expect, and judge what we do against them.

What is an Early Help Assessment?

An Early Help Assessment (EHA) is the local assessment in Derby and Derbyshire that is used by all agencies working with children and their families. The Threshold Document will also be drawn upon as part of this to help decide the level of need and what kind of support is required. This can make sure that decisions are made and action is taken at the earliest opportunity to better the situation. The Family Support Worker's involvement sits between Level 1 (Universal) and 2 (Emerging) of the thresholds. A summary of this document, showing a breakdown of each threshold, can be seen at the bottom of this page.

An Early Help Assessment starts with an Early Help conversation, whereby you discuss your family situation with the Pastoral Officer. There is no judgement from them, it is simply an opportunity for you to be open and honest, whilst being listened to and respected. Then, an Early Help Assessment could be recommended, which looks at the family as a whole, based on a holistic view. This involves identification of the strengths and needs of a child or young person, and the development of an action plan with targets that address those needs. The purpose of the process is to empower the family to help themselves and accept the support offered to them, before their situation deteriorates and the choice is taken away from them as other services intervene.

What happens next?

The next steps will be agreed on and priorities will be established. It is vital that the feelings of both the child or young person and the family are considered so they are able to work as a team with the Pastoral Officer. If consent is given, the completed Early Help Assessment is sent to the local Early Help team. Up to a month after, a TAF meeting may be conducted.

What is a TAF meeting?

A Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting is where the family and the professionals involved discuss the decisions that were made in the Early Help Assessment and the additional support services needed. The Early Help Assessment and TAF action plan are reviewed to measure progress against the agreed targets and towards the intended outcomes. Reviews tend to take place every 6 weeks to give the family a sufficient amount of time to achieve what they set out to do and their needs are met.

If you have any questions regarding Early Help, please contact our Pastoral Officer.