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    • Early Help

    Griffe Field provides ‘Early Help’ support for families.

    The Early Help Assessment (EHA) is a shared assessment for use across all children’s services in Derby City and Derbyshire. It aims to help identify any emerging needs where children or families would benefit from co-ordinated support from more than one agency (e.g. education, health, housing and police) working together. The assessment is family based, meaning that each child’s needs and strengths can be put within one assessment.

    The aim of the EHA is to find how these agencies can best support you and your family.

    Griffe Field Primary School has developed our own ‘Early Help Offer’. Click the links below for more information.

    Our Early Help offer follows the principles of effective support outlined by the Derby City and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership and refers to the latest threshold guidance.

    These principles of effective support are: 

    • The child is at the centre of everything we do and we will listen to the voice of the child.
    • Our aim is to build resilience in children and families by working to families strengths.
    • We will work together, openly and honestly with children and families, this may include having challenging conversations with families.
    • We recognise that families can identify their own strengths, needs and solutions. We will use evidenced based strengths and solution focused approaches to support families to do this and to build resilience in children and families.
    • Children’s needs will always take priority, therefore if a practitioner identifies risks which the family may or may not agree with appropriate action will be taken to keep the child safe.
    • We will work with families at the earliest opportunity to help them identify things they want to change and the support they need to make it happen.
    • Wherever possible needs will be met by universal services.
    • We will be clear and consistent about the outcomes we are working towards.
    • Once family circumstances improve, services will reduce or end, with a clear and agreed pathway forward, so we do not create dependence on services.
    • We will fully utilise the support and strength available in our communities.
    • We will work together aligning our resources so we can best support families and do what needs to be done when it is needed.

    In Derby City and Derbyshire, practitioners, including all school practitioners are seeking to work collaboratively and respectfully with the family (or with young people on their own where it is age appropriate) in order to support them to address their needs at the lowest possible level and at the earliest possible time.

    We recognise that each unborn baby, child, young person and family member is an individual, each family is unique in its make-up and reaching decisions about levels of need and the best intervention requires curious discussion, reflection and professional judgement.

    The full documentation can be found online here:

    https://derbyshirescbs.proceduresonline.com/docs_library.html