Earl Mortimer College and Sixth Form Centre

How may we help you?

The Early Help Offer at EMC provides a range of support to students and their families, aiming to address emerging needs before they escalate. The Offer may include (and is not limited to) information, advice and support for a variety of situations, often tailored to individual circumstances and local resources. 

Here is a breakdown of what a typical Early Help Offer may include:

1. Assessment and Identification:

• Early Help Assessments (EHAs): These tools help identify a child and family's strengths and needs, allowing for targeted support to be planned. 
• Regular monitoring and review: The school regularly assesses student wellbeing and progress, looking for any signs of emerging needs. 

2. Support and Intervention:

• Parenting support: Workshops, advice, and guidance on positive parenting practices, including behaviour management, may be offered. EMC works with an external provider of online support and courses, too. 
• Emotional health and wellbeing support: This may involve accessing counsellors, mental health support, or referrals to external agencies such as Melo, WEST, Hope and others. 
• Social skills groups and nurture groups: These can help students develop their social and emotional skills, creating a more supportive learning environment. These may be small groups, led by a trained colleague or peer mentors, here in school. 
• Attendance and engagement support: The school uses many strategies to improve attendance and increase family engagement with the school, such as breakfast clubs, lunch clubs, parent-teacher meetings and more. 
• Communication and language support: Speech and language therapy, or other interventions to support communication development, which are led by our SENCo and their team. 
• Special educational needs (SEN) support: This may include specialised teaching, therapies, or access to resources for children with SEN. 
• Wellbeing and Mental Health Support: EMC offers a range of mental health support for students experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health issues. Some support may be delivered in-house and some may be delivered by external partners such as WEST (part of the NHS), our School Nurse (NHS), Melo and more. 
• Early Help Team: This is a dedicated team, often including external professionals like mental health nurses, health visitors, therapists, psychologists, social workers and family support workers, who may available to offer support. 

3. Information and Signposting:

• Local resource information: EMC will provide information about local services, including financial support, housing assistance, and other community resources as appropriate. 
• Referral pathways: EMC will share information on how you may access other services, such as social services or early intervention programs. 
• Parent workshops and information sessions: Providing opportunities for parents to learn about available support and resources. 

4. Collaboration and Partnership:

• Inter-agency working: EMC works collaboratively with other agencies (e.g., local council, health services, social services) to provide comprehensive support. 
• Family support: This may include offering assistance with paperwork, completing forms, or attending meetings with other agencies as appropriate. 
• Transition support: Providing support for students who may be transitioning between schools, or moving into or out of school. 

5. Safeguarding and Child Protection:

• Safeguarding procedures: EMC has a clear policy and procedures for safeguarding children and reporting concerns. 
• Early intervention for at-risk children: EMC aims to help identify and support students who may be at risk of harm or neglect. 

In essence, the Early Help Offer is about:

• Identifying needs early: Looking for signs that a student or family may need support. 
• Providing appropriate support: Connecting families with the right services and resources. 
• Preventing problems from escalating: Addressing issues before they become more serious. 
• Working collaboratively: Ensuring that all agencies are working together to support children and families. 
• Safeguarding: Supporting children and families to access support to keep them safe and well.

How to access a member of the safeguarding team

Earl Mortimer College has a number of staff available as part of our safeguarding team.

If you need to contact a member of the team, please use one of the following options:

1. By telephone - 01568 613221

2. Via email - admin@emc.hereford.sch.uk