Community Cohesion  »   »  Family Support

                                                                                                                         
         Building Stronger Families, Building Brighter Lives

Lindsey Groom is our Family and Community Worker, working alongside parents/carers and families with a range of strategies and support programmes to assist and empower families to reach their full potential. She helps provide a foundation for all family members to flourish and reach their potential. Her purpose is to provide support to create a strong, stable and loving family network. 

Mrs Groom can support children, young people, parents, carers and the wider family network to ensure the family is able to realise its full potential; working holistically across the extended family with complex needs and challenges - including domestic violence, substance and alcohol misuse and mental health issues. Support ranges from intensive family support, specialist therapeutic work, advice, sign-posting to numerous well-being services. 


Early Help Assessments:-

The Early Help Assessment provides an opportunity for parents/carers to receive structured support from all organisations involved with the family and child; providing a pro-active approach to develop the needs of the family. The EHA is used to assist families who face more challenges, who may have multiple needs and who require targeted support. The process involves a one-to-one meeting with Mrs.Groom to complete a detailed needs analysis form before a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting is held between all parties to design a support plan, providing additional capacity to address the needs highlighted.  
One parent who has used the Early Help Assessment for support has praised the approach: "The early help is giving me more motivation. It is giving me a push in the right direction. I have done things I probably wouldn’t have done without the TAFs (groups etc…). I would recommend to accept family support to anyone who is struggling because it has helped me no end, it has pushed me to get up off my backside and do what I needed to do. I am much happier and confident which means the kids have a better life. I am looking forward to working with school as an ambassador and this has encouraged me to carry on improving."

Food Parcels:-

Mrs Groom is a partner to Barnsley Food Banks, an organisation which helps local people in crisis. If you are living in Food Poverty or facing difficulties, please ask to speak with Mrs Groom as she may be able to provide a Food Bank food voucher in order to receive a selection of daily necessities. 
 

Be Cancer Aware and Health Sessions
Parents/carers are invited to attend health sessions to help support healthy living. The sessions are run by Mrs Groom alongside Health Practitioners and School Nursing Teams. This provides a safe space for our families to learn about head lice, general hygience and oral hygiene for children. More recently, the Be Cancer Safe team also attended to share skills for identifying possible symptoms, the importance of smear and breast screening and to raise positive awareness. 
                                               

Pamper Sessions
Oakwell Rise is aware of the demands parents/carers face on a day to day basis. In order to relieve some of the everyday pressures and to provide a morning of relaxation, we hold regular pamper mornings where parents/carers can receive a massage, have their hair done or their nails painted. Holding these pamper sessions also provides an arena for parents to socialise with each other - peer to peer support is linked to reduced tension, stress and anxieties.