Early Help
WHAT IS EARLY HELP?
There are so many misconceptions as to what Early Help is, the old myth that it is people interfering is so far off the mark! Every family experiences challenges and difficulties: we all can do with some help at some point and for each family it differs. There’s good times and there’s harder times and that this is completely normal, the super family that have it all together simply does not exist.
There are times that problems rear their head and can start to impact on family life, and at times ‘asking for help’ either seems too daunting, to embarrassing, or you may have absolutely no idea where to start, where to go or who to ask for support!
At Higher Lane we want to ensure that every family has access to the right help at the right time. The great thing for us at Higher Lane is that Bury are committed to ensure that every child has the best possible start in life, and it’s a privilege to support children through the many challenges and changes they experience, to enable them to become the most successful adults they can be.
No one is going to barge into a family situation and tell people that they are doing this or that wrong. Children thrive best in the family environment, and no-one wants to separate a parent from their child; Early Help is a process of ‘working with, not doing to!’
Confident and effective parenting has a significant impact on a child’s health and wellbeing throughout their whole life, getting parenting right for children means they will go on to be better parents themselves. Although many wish they did, children don’t come with an instruction manual, each child is fantastically individual, so when it comes to parenting, how do we know what’s best and what works? In Bury, we believe that every parent matters (you really do!) and recognise that bringing up children is one of the hardest jobs, one of the most underrated jobs and probably the worst paid job in the world, but when we get it right it’s an incredible privilege. Parents do a fantastic job often in challenging circumstances, but there are times when some extra support may be needed.
Early Help means identifying needs early and providing preventive support and intervention before those needs become too difficult to address. Early Help can be provided at any time in a child or young person’s life from pre-birth to adulthood. Support can be delivered from a wide range of services depending on what is needed it and can offer additional help so that you can access more specialist or targeted services.
All agencies in Bury who have contact with children and their families can and should provide help and support; the best way for us to start helping is to listen; and a Story So Far document is a great tool which we use use to gather the key facts, to help us understand what support you as a family need and it enables us to help you put a plan together to support you.
At Higher Lane, we work collaboratively with the Whitefield, Prestwich & North Early Help Team – based at Whitefield Children's Centre Hub – covering Bury North, Whitefield and Prestwich Neighbourhoods.
Early Help offers so much advice and help, have a look Here (existing Hyperlink) to see just how much support Bury provide to ensure your child thrives.
Just some of the topics Early Help can offer one-to-one advice on are:
• Parenting
• Mental Health
• School or college
• Finances
• Parental conflict
• Friendships
• Sexual health
• Domestic abuse
• Family relationships & difficulties
• Substance misuse
• Housing
If you need help or support, Mrs Nott and Mr Wilkinson are here to listen. Contact us at school, speak to us on the school gate and maybe arrange to pop in for a chat. If we can help, we will!