Benjamin Britten Academy of Music & Mathematics

Early Help at Benjamin Britten Academy of Music and Mathematics

At Benjamin Britten Music Academy staff are trained in recognising the signs of Child Abuse and Extremism and are committed to and know the benefit of Early Help as a way of supporting families and young people before their needs become acute and Social Care or other specialist intervention may be necessary.

The Academy has a range of robust safeguarding procedures in place which puts the safety and protection of children at the heart of any decisions.

The DSL and all ADSLs complete inter-agency safeguarding training on a yearly programme. All other school staff complete safeguarding training on a two yearly basis and are updated regularly to any changes in legislation.

Involvement of Families

The school will always involve the family in all Early Help strategies and most will only be put in place with their permission. The school will aim to work with families in a supportive, non-judgemental way so that trust is built up and the best possible outcomes achieved.

There are occasions, however, when the school’s safeguarding team or member of school staff may believe that a child may be at immediate risk of significant harm and that by informing the parents/carers of the concern may put the child at further risk. This will involve an immediate referral to social care sometimes without the parents/carers knowledge.

Example Early Help Points of Contact

The school has divided its Early Help strategies into 4 areas: Universal Support is for all and is what all children and families would normally receive, Community Support is for a child or family who may need some extra support, Specific Support is for children and families who need specialist support and Acute is where a child or their family may need a high level of support to prevent harm.

At Benjamin Britten Academy we can offer several types of Early Help support. Our most popular support includes:

Breakfast Clubs

Financial signposting support

Food and Hygiene bank 

Homework support

Counselling

Common Assessment Framework

Attendance support 

Pastoral Mentoring

After school enrichment

Home tutoring