Welcome to the latest edition of the Early Help Newsletter. In this edition you will find out how early help is transforming in Shropshire, a new online course focusing on understanding your own trauma and a ten step guide to sharing information to safeguarding children from the Information Commissioners Office, plus lots of other useful information to help you support children, young people and families in Shropshire.
If you have information on your service area you would like to share in the next early help newsletter, please email Kate.Bentham@shropshire.gov.uk or if you know of a colleague who would also like to receive this newsletter they can also email to be added to the distribution list.
‘By treating our children and young people with respect, love and trust and with the right amount of encouragement we can inspire them to dream big, build relationships and connections that matter and together with kindness and a sense of belonging we can do great things.’
Children and Young People’s vision statement
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Whether you think a parent or family needs some support, or you are worried a child might be at risk of abuse or neglect, there is only one number you need – 0345 678 9021. From this number you will receive the support you need to get the right help at the right time to strengthen families and safeguard children.
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Shropshire Council’s Early Help transformation project is all about investing in prevention, recognising the benefits of making sure that the right support is given to children, young people and families.
The project launched in August has been off to a flying start. Activity so far has included;
- Delivered an early engagement workshop with Early Help staff and another 3 workshops with partners, all were brilliantly attended. Thanks everybody who came.
- Engaged with children, young people, parents and carers directly to find out what their experiences are, and how they would like to service to develop
- Launched the new Early Help Front Door help desk (E-HAST), promoting a ‘how can we help’ approach at the earliest stage of need for children, young people and families
- Reached the highest number of Strengthening Families’ Claims ever this quarter, with a total of 95 successful claims
Up next, the team will be:
- Carrying out focus groups with children in primary schools and nurseries
- The Youth Support Team and voluntary and community sector will be supporting us with participation and consultation with young people
- Planning a presence in Early Help hubs across the county, to support collaboration and communication with our teams
- Feedback from all participation sessions will be brought together and used to inform a draft Early Help strategy, the roadmap to help the project get where it needs to be by April 2024
Thank you so much to all our partners who have helped us to get the Early Help transformation project off the ground. Everybody’s input so far has been invaluable, and the team will continue to call on you for ideas and suggestions all the way through.
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Shropshire Safeguarding and Community Partnership (SSCP) have prepared a video for professionals where children from Shropshire describe the processes for safeguarding all children in Shropshire. It is recommended viewing for all professionals that work with, or have any contact with children and their families so please take a moment to watch this video.
Shropshire’s early help service are hosting an opportunity for parent carers to meet teams from education, health and social care.
The theme for Autumn is
- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support
- Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs)
- Annual reviews
Come along and hear from those who can help, support and guide parent carers on these topics, and then chat to them about any queries you have on the process.
The session will also be attended by the Parent and Carer Council (PACC) and the Early Help team.
Sessions are being held in Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Oswestry and Market Drayton and are free to attend.
- Mon 13 Nov, 9.30am-12.30pm, The Centre, Oswestry, SY11 1LW
- Mon 20 Nov, 9.30am-12.30pm, Sunflower House, Shrewsbury, SY1 4E
- Fri 1 Dec, 9.30am-12.30pm, Raven House, Market Drayton, TF9 3AH
- Thu 14 Dec, 9.30am-12.30pm, Helena Lane Community Centre, Ludlow, SY8 2NP
To find out more about these specific SEND events or the weekly Early Help drop ins offering support to families, please visit the Family Information Directory.
A new and exciting course has been added to our online Solihull Approach courses.
Understanding your own trauma is a new FREE online course for all Shropshire parent carers, developed by a team of experienced NHS psychologists and professionals.
Launched on World Mental Health Day it offers a safe and accessible way for parent carers to explore their own experiences and gain a deeper understanding of trauma's impact on their life.
What is trauma?
- Psychological trauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events that overwhelms your ability to cope.
- Trauma can be complex and it touches all of us in different ways.
- Processing traumatic experiences effectively can help you to manage triggers and move forward positively.
This could be an excellent tool to work with adults where you know they have experienced trauma and would benefit from talking through this in a more structured way to be able to move forward and focus on other aspects which have been identified in your interventions with them.
Click through the modules to get an understanding of what the course includes, to be able to talk to parents/carers about this where appropriate. Clicking through will only take you 20 minutes but give you a real good insight into the course. There is no expectation that you are a specialist in trauma or psychology, in true Solihull Approach style, this course will support reflection and moving forward in a positive way.
Access the course here Understanding your own trauma and use the access code DARWIN18 to get the course for free.
We are inviting families, parent carers and children age 0-5 to Shropshire’s Best Start Family Event which will be held on Friday 27th October at 10am to 4pm, at The Lantern Community Hall and a quiet zone in the library in Shrewsbury.
The event is FREE to attend for Shropshire’s families.
We will be showcasing Shropshire’s Best Start for Life offers on the day, with a number of services and charities hosting stalls and activities, including the SEND Local Offer and the Parent and Carer Council (PACC)
For a full timetable of events please visit this website.
We will be using the event as an opportunity to gain feedback from families, parent carers and children which will be used to inform the future direction for The Healthy Child Programme and the development of the Best Start for Life offers in Shropshire.
We would be grateful if could please share this information with parent carers and partners who support children and their families age 0-5.
There’s another school holiday just round the corner, and we know how some families can find the holidays a challenge with the juggle of work and keeping the children entertained.
If parent carers are looking for thinks to do and places to go, then the Shropshire Family Information Service Directory is the place to visit. Click here for October half term fun.
There’s also the Actio activity offer for those children and young people who are registered for All In Short Breaks and Autism West Midlands are also hosting a family walk around Attingham Park, for booking information, please visit the Autism West Midlands website
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These 5 week workshops cover:
- Recognising the role of sleep hygiene to improve sleep
- Identifying causes of sleep issues and appropriate practical strategies to try
- Completing sleep diaries and identifying potential sleep issues
These courses are offered face to face and online
- Friday 12th January 2024 from 09.30am to 11.30am in Shrewsbury, venue to be confirmed.
- Friday 12th January 2024 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm Virtually via MS Teams
- Friday 23rd February 2024 from 9.30am to 11.30am in Shrewsbury, venue to be confirmed.
- Friday 23rd February 2024 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm Virtually via MS Teams
Please share with those parents you think would benefit.
Please do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions: parenting.team@shropshire.gov.uk or give us a call on 01743 250950
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The Parenting Team will be delivering free Understanding Your Child and Understanding Your Child SEND groups from January 2024
These 10 week groups aim to:
- Promote understanding of children’s behaviour within the context of developmental issues
- Promote the development of parent/child relationship
- Increase confidence and self-esteem in both parents and children
- Give parents a strategy for repair when things go wrong
- Promote reflective, sensitive and effective parenting
The courses are offered face to face and online.
- Understanding Your Child SEND starts on Monday 15th January 2024 until 18th March 2024 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm in Shrewsbury, venue to be confirmed.
- Understanding Your Child starts Wednesday 10th January 2024 until 20th March 2024 from 9.30am to 11.30am Virtually via MS Teams
- Understanding Your Child SEND starts on Thursday 11th January 2024 until 21st March 2024 From 12.30pm to 2.30pm Virtually via MS Teams
Please share with those parents you think would benefit.
Please do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions: parenting.team@shropshire.gov.uk or give us a call on 01743 250950
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The Information Commissioners Office has a 10 step guide on data protection considerations when sharing personal information for child safeguarding purposes. It aims to help you feel confident about sharing information when you need to safeguard a child or young person at risk of harm.
It does not tell you how to safeguard children and young people, but it does give you practical advice on data protection as part of the safeguarding process.
Data protection law allows you to share information when required to identify children at risk of harm and to safeguard them from harm. Data protection law doesn’t prevent you from doing this. It simply helps you to share information in a fair, proportionate and lawful way. It can be more harmful not to share information that is needed to protect a child or young person.
Appropriate information sharing is central to effectively safeguarding children from harm and promoting their wellbeing. There have been many reviews of cases where children have died or been seriously harmed through abuse or neglect. The case reviews frequently identify gaps in information sharing as a factor contributing to failures to protect the children involved. Data protection law has an enabling role, supporting you to share information.
This guide is aimed at people who are involved in safeguarding children: at all levels, and in all sectors in the UK. Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility – not just practitioners in child safeguarding.
Read the Information Commissioners Office ten step guide to sharing information to safeguard children.
The latest edition of the newsletter for parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities has been issued and is available on the SEND Local Offer.
This newsletter keeps parent carers up to date with all things SEND, please share with any families you are working with, and let them know they can sign up via the Local.Offer@Shropshire.gov.uk email. Read the newsletter here.
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Stay up to date with news and information for children, young people and families by following the Family Information Service and the SEND Local Offer on social media. There’s lots of information shared on a daily basis to support families in Shropshire, so why not give them a follow? If you have news and information you would like them to share about your service either tag them into your post or email ShropshireFIS@shropshire.gov.uk
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Shropshire Council’s Early Help team would like to recruit 2 Early Help Practitioners and a Parenting Practitioner to join their team.
These roles will be to provide support to children, young people and families in Shropshire across all levels of need.
To find out more about the posts and to apply please visit the Shropshire Council’s job vacancy page Current Vacancies – Shropshire Council
 Did you know that the fire service offers free safe and well visits in your home?
The purpose of the visit is to ensure that you are aware of potential hazards within your home and can take appropriate actions to reduce your risk from fire. We will also check you have working smoke alarms and discuss your escape plan.
To book your free safe and well visit, please call 01743 260 260 or email safeandwell@shropshirefire.gov.uk.
Online Home fire safety check
Alternatively, you can complete a FREE online Home Fire Safety Check, that could help you identify if a safe and well visit would be beneficial for you by following the link https://www.safelincs.co.uk/hfsc/
This easy-to-follow home fire safety check will take you through your home one room at a time and the simple questions will help you spot fire risks as you go around your home.
The tool will offer tips and advice on the steps you can take to reduce those risks. At the end, you will receive a personalised fire safety action plan to help keep you and your household safe from fire.
This online home fire safety check should take around 15 minutes to complete.
For more information about our services, please visit our website: https://www.shropshirefire.gov.uk/safe-and-well-visit
This Learning Event will take place on Monday the 13th of November 2023 from 10:00am to explore professional curiosity and consider how you can put it into practice in your role, whether you work with adults, children or whole families.
This event is to ensure that learning is shared and can be acted on and therefore learning resources and handouts will be provided. To book onto the event, please click here.
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Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership (SSCP) is committed to open and transparent joint working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Raising questions, challenging, and escalating concerns where appropriate, quickly and clearly, is seen as a positive approach to practice and continuing improvement in how we protect and meet the needs of children in Shropshire.
This guidance has been developed to enable a quick and straightforward means of resolving professional differences or issues in specific cases.
In order to support the positive use of escalation through open communication SSCP have developed stage-by-stage guidance (see below) and a Resolution and Escalation Flowchart.
This guidance should be read in conjunction with the regional procedure 1.13 Managing Professional Disagreements
This guidance is for all professionals involved with families’ where there is child to parent violence and abuse.
Nationally there is no legal definition of Child to Parent Abuse and it is referred to in various ways, in Shropshire it is known as CPA.
CPA can involve children of any age however if the child is aged 16 or above then the harmful behaviour is classified as Domestic Abuse in accordance with the statutory definition under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This policy applies to all children aged 15 or below and should be considered for all aged 16 and 17. You can read the policy document here.
DLD is a significant difficulty learning, understanding, and using spoken language.
DLD is a relatively NEW term (2017) for a condition we have known about for hundreds of years. This condition goes by many names: expressive-receptive language disorder, specific language impairment, speech-language impairment, and language delay among them.
Five things you need to know about DLD
- DLD is a hidden disability. People with DLD make more errors or use simpler sentences or even have trouble organizing a conversation. These problems are not always obvious to the non-specialist.
- DLD emerges in early childhood but persists into adulthood.
- DLD affects people around the world, no matter the language spoken.
- DLD is common. In one study, 1 in 14 children demonstrated symptoms of DLD.
- DLD matters. It can affect social and emotional well-being as well as success at school and work.
To find out more about DLD you can read this factsheet. Or visit the Raise Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder or ‘DLD’ website
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