Family Support Worker
The role of the Family Support Worker is to work with pupils and their families to help them receive maximum benefit from their time at Springhallow School. The school employs two Family Support Workers, Ana de Blas Pin ([email protected]) and Nisha ([email protected]).
This role includes:
- Promoting the welfare and general well being of both students and their families.
- Facilitating and encouraging home / school links ensuring effective communication and mutual understanding between home and school.
- Assisting with the assessment and planning for each student’s particular individual needs.
- Attending network and other meetings to help establish and maintain links between home, school and other professionals involved with the family.
- Liaising with statutory and voluntary agencies when appropriate.
- Offering practical and emotional support for parents, carers and guardians.
- Organisation of a regular group for parents and carers.
- Working with pupils and their families to help with social, psychological, emotional, economic and educational development.
- Acting as an advocate for parents, if necessary.
The family support workers are there to provide parents with a variety of help, support and advice on a wide range of topics, some of those include help with the completion of benefit forms, advice on respite care and aspects of your child’s development at home, school and the wider community. They are there to provide advice and support for you with the welfare of your child and family. They can also act as an intermediary between home, school and other agencies when requested.
You can contact the family support worker by telephoning the school to arrange a meeting or directly by email.
Springhallow Parent's Group
The parents’ group is organised by the Parent, Pupil Support Worker regularly every 2-3 weeks throughout the school year. These may take the form of coffee mornings, sessions led by a guest speaker or a member of the school staff, or parent discussions on requested topics. These groups aim to provide a supportive environment for parents to meet other parents, share ideas and provide mutual support.
They also provide a good opportunity to exchange information about autism, special education provision, allowances and other aspects of education and care. They are another method of communication between parents and school and act as a forum for raising ideas, sharing information and discussion.
Information on individual events is sent home to all parents via their child.