Dear Friends,
Returning to school is always a challenge for children, no matter how much they enjoy it! Here at FSW we are ready to step in and offer additional support to our parents as their children return to school. It is also a period when we see a large influx of referrals to our services. Over the next few weeks as children settle into school we will start to receive these, as teachers get to grips with new classes and identify educational needs, or problems that are impacting on a pupil’s life.
One of our school related cases is:
Becky has been supporting a lone parent with three children, including two with ASD. The eldest, 13, had been out of school for 18 months due to severe mental health difficulties and complete withdrawal from professionals. Becky provided consistent emotional and practical support for the mother, while gradually building trust with the 13-year-old through weekly walks, which eventually enabled her to return to school four days a week. Becky also supported the family in securing a Special Educational Needs school place for the 7-year-old, who is now thriving. Her sustained, compassionate support has helped the family regain stability and access education tailored to the children’s needs.
This work with families is slow as the time it takes to build the trust with the children can be long but at the end of the day the results are worth it.
August’s work in numbers
- 134 individual visits and 517 calls with families supporting 242 adults and 223 children
- 27 supported meetings with other agencies
- 44 group sessions held supporting 618 parents and 546 children
- 66 food deliveries made
As always August figures are always lower, but as you saw in the last newsletter there have been lots of activities during the school holidays for the families and there is always opportunities for informal support at these events
Martin Auton-Lloyd FRSA, CEO
Office tel: 01273 832963
Website: https://www.familysupportwork.org/