Family Support Worker

Hello, my name is Mrs Darby, and I am the Family Support Worker at Barming Primary School.

My role is to provide pastoral support to parents/carers and help with any issues that you may have in relation to supporting your children, both at home and in school. I work to encourage parental involvement within school, signpost to agencies (where appropriate) and support children in school. Should you have a personal concern or school related issue, then I am here as a listening ear. I have access to a number of agencies who may be able to provide support to you and your family, for issues such as:

• Bereavement Services
• Children’s Centres
• Counselling/Play Therapy
• Mediation
• Housing
• Parenting Programmes
• School Nursing
• Early Help
• Young Carers
• Food Banks
• Domestic Abuse support

I can liaise with school staff on your behalf and work impartially and confidentially if you ever need advice or support.

Mrs Darby - Hours of work are:

Monday – 08:30 – 3.30

Tuesday – 08:30 – 3.30

Thursday – 08:30 – 3.30

Friday - 08.30 - 3.30

You can contact me on - 01622 726472 or via the email link at the bottom of this page.

Attendance - 

I also work with families regarding attendance. All pupils should be in school between 8.30am and 8.50 am so they are sitting in class ready to learn by 9.00 am. Each class has a Wellbeing time between 8.35 and 8.50, when children can check in with their teacher and do some activities to help get them ready for the day.

If your child is ill, the school office should be informed as soon as possible on each day of absence. Our preference is that you do this via the WEDUC app, but you can also email or phone. Please give your child’s name, class and reason for absence.

Below are some useful services, links and resources:

Additional Support Services-Advice and Well Being

Additional Learning Needs

Bereavement

Healthy Lifestyles

Local Support

CO-PARENTING APPS:

To make communication easier:

Dads Unlimited offer a Co-Parenting online programme - I cant see any new date but may be worth contacting them.

Co-parenting Programme – Dads Unlimited (dadsunltd.org.uk)

Our Family Wizard - an app parents can use to communicate.  A few of our parents use it have said its useful, however there is a cost to this.

OurFamilyWizard | The Best Coparenting App

HSF4 Winter Energy Scheme 

 The Government Winter Energy Support Scheme for households opens tomorrow.

Applicants can either self-refer or we can do the referral for you.

If successful, support will be provided in one of the following:    EITHER ·     £100 prepaid physical card to be used to pay for energy via PayPoint or Post Office physical locations.    ·       Sent to applicant via Royal Mail 

OR  ·    £100 virtual energy card to be used to pay directly to energy providers for electricity, gas or water bills. Energy providers including British Gas, EDF, E.on, Bulb, Octopus and many more  ·       Sent to applicant via email 

All applicants will need to complete the card activation process which will require online access and those without internet access will require professional referrer assistance, or they can access their local gateway service.  There is only one reward per household.  

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?  Applicants that self-refer will be required to submit evidence to prove that they are the energy bill payer for the household and a Kent resident, within an eligible Kent district, at the point of application.      

Applicants must   ·       be aged 16 or over  ·       be a Kent resident, permanently living within one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bromley, and Bexley)   ·       have a household income less than £40,000 per annum before tax (including any means tested benefits)  ·       be the named utility bill payer for the household   ·       not have savings above £1000  ·       *not be receiving free school meal support within their household    

*Free School Meal eligible families have received an additional energy voucher for each eligible child via their child’s school outside of this scheme. Eligible FSM families have received a voucher per eligible child for the value of £100 direct from their child’s school before Christmas and should be referred back to their school for further advice if this has not been received.   

Application link:  www.kent.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/adult-social-care/paying-for-care/benefits/household-support-fund#tab-3 Household Support Fund - Kent County Council

Please speak to me with any queries.

HEALTHY START

If you are pregnant or have children under 4, you could get help to buy healthy food and milk.

This is an NHS scheme and you can apply at www.healthystart.nhs.uk

Home essentials in a crisis

If you've experienced an unforeseeable, short-term crisis or you're facing exceptional pressures because of an emergency, we may be able to offer you:

• supermarket vouchers (to buy food, toiletries and nappies)
• gas or electric fuel vouchers (prepayment meters only).

We are a discretionary service, so will only be able to support you if you are in an unforeseeable, short-term crisis, see the link below:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/adult-social-care/paying-for-care/benefits/home-essentials-in-a-crisis

Kent Educational Psychology Service

Dear Parents/Carers,

Kent Educational Psychology Service now has a Parent Consultation Line which consists of a free 30-minute phone or video consultation.

This is to provide support and guidance to parents to support children's wellbeing and learning, including:

-social and emotional issues

-concerns about behaviour

-family relationships

-concerns about learning

-daily routines including sleep

To access this service please email kepscommunitysupport@kent.gov.uk with the following information:

-your name

-phone number

-a convenient time to call (morning or afternoon)

-your child's year group

-a brief description of what you wish to discuss

If you have any questions about this, please come and talk to Mrs Darby.

Please see the following information regarding a free emotional resilience course for 9 - 13 year olds:

Bounce Back is a six-week programme which aims to look at emotional resilience in young people. This course looks at how people can combat stress, deal with their emotions, and also how they can reduce levels of anxiety - all with the aim of encouraging young people to ‘bounce back’ from the challenges which they face in life.

Spaces are free but fill quickly. For more details on our Bounce Back courses, visit the Maidstone Mind website

See below for a local charity offering support to mums and children:

Below is the link for the KENT RESILIENCE HUB , which is full of great information, resources and ideas for supporting our children and young people:

https://kentresiliencehub.org.uk/

***THE FAMILY HUB - Parenting support and resources***

Please see the link below to some great ideas to support families at home at this time:

https://www.fegans.org.uk/parent-hub/

** I am aware that many families and children are feeling anxious and concerned about a whole range of issues at the moment.  Here is a link to a great website with lots of information and support for anxiety and other issues during this time:

https://www.barnardos.org.uk/see-hear-respond-support-hub

If you would like to discuss anything, you can contact me via the email link at the bottom of this page**

***This was a useful video on the BBC recently, about supporting our children's mental health at the moment:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/education-55620288