Providing early help to our students and families at Ridgeway Secondary School 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.
At Ridgeway, our Safeguarding team meet once a week to discuss any concerns.
This team includes:
Mr Worton – Headteacher – Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Dare – Safeguarding Officer – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs McNamee – Assistant to SENDCo – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
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Our Early Help Offer:
Early Help is a pathway to supporting you and your child as they grow up when you or they may need further support or guidance.
Providing early help to our students and families at Ridgeway means we can improve outcomes for children, families, and communities, providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the early years through to teenage years.
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.
When our team meet weekly, at these meetings we discuss:
- How the child presents Behaviour Attitudes to learning
- Friendships Family issues Additional needs
- Any support they receive Mental Health Other agencies involved
This allows us to identify any pupils and families that would benefit from early help and allows us to help them access the services in the school and beyond the school.