Home School Link Worker
Hello, my name is Miss Smith and I am the Home School Link Worker here at Grovelands.
My role is to promote positive links between home and school and to offer support to our pupils and their parents/carers by working closely with the family, teachers, colleagues and outside agencies. Home-school liaison is child and parent/carer-centred work that builds positive partnerships between school and home in order to support children's development and learning. The aim is to tackle issues at an early stage to reduce current stressful situations, link families to specialised help and support and ideally reduce future difficulties.
Every family experiences challenges at some point, but people's circumstances vary greatly and some need more support. We are here to invest in your child's wellbeing and progress in school, but we know that when things are not going well at home, a child may not be in a good place to learn.
I am available to help with a wide range of issues including:
- Financial difficulties, debt, benefits & foodbank vouchers
- Family breakdown/separation
- Improve attendance and punctuality
- Family mental or physical ill-health
- Domestic abuse
- Bereavement
- Supporting Young Carers
- Managing your child’s behaviour and emotional needs
- Guiding you towards other sources of early help intervention, advice and support
- Help completing forms and documentation
- Offering support in school meetings
- Providing information on support groups for parents/carers.
We know children thrive and reach their full potential when home and school are working in partnership to support their development. We want all our children to enjoy school and feel happy and secure.
Parents/carers and pupils can ask for my involvement at any time to explore the challenges being faced, and together we will try to find the best way forward.
To contact the HSLW:
Complete the HSLW form available from the school office and hand it back into the school office, marked "Private & Confidential".
Email: hslw@grovelands.surrey.sch.uk
Phone 01932 227816 - our school office staff will be happy to pass your message onto me.
Please note that I work on a part-time basis (Mon - Thurs 8.15 - 12.15 pm) and will respond to you as soon as I can.
Useful Links:
Community Connector link:
- What you can do to increase your income and reduce your expenditure - a document full of suggestions and useful advice with links to help you budget.
- https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/children/support-and-advice/families/support-and-advice/community-connector - here you can find advice on many topics including finances, education and learning and childcare
- Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Articles - the mental health charity Place2Be has a parenting section called ‘Parenting Smart’. Here you can find advice on many topics related to mental health, emotional support and common issues at home.
- Surrey's Family Information Services - provides information, advice and assistance for families with children.
- Childline offer Calm Zone - supporting children through breathing exercises, activities, games and videos to help let go of stress.
- Family Voice Surrey - supports families of children and young people with additional needs in Surrey.
- North Surrey Domestic Abuse Service - offers confidential support.
- Think U Know - aims to protect children online, staying safe when you're on a phone, tablet or computer.
- Surrey Young Carers - support for young people helping to care for someone in the family who has an illness, a disability, or is affected by mental ill-health or alcohol/substance misuse.
- Citizens Advice - UK's largest advice-giving charity, providing trusted, quality assured, independent advice to the nation.
- Runnymede Foodbank - aiming to provide a lifeline for families experiencing financial hardship, who are desperately short of food.
- Surrey Adult Learning - free courses and workshops for parents, carers and grandparents to help you create a better family life.
- Family Lives - a charity with over three decades of experience helping parents with challenging family life.
The following links provide information for parents challenged with Emotionally Based School Non Attendance:
EBSNA Resources for Parents (padlet.com)
EBSNA - Coffee and Chat - Surrey Youth Focus