At Thomas Harding Junior School, we are committed to the wellbeing of our pupils and their families.

I am Mrs Murison, the school Family Liaison Officer  I work in partnership with parents/carers, schools and other agencies to support families, aiming to reduce current stressful situations and prevent future difficulties. My aim is to ensure that all children are able to enjoy school, are happy and secure and able to achieve their potential. 

The work I do includes:

• Offering support in school,
• Supporting parents/carers and families,
• Improving attendance and punctuality,
• Promoting positive behaviour

I can help by providing:

• One to one support, listening ear and advice
• Signposting to other agencies - i.e. Information of local services and community activities
• Signposting support groups for parents/carers
• Support in accessing Early Help Intervention
• Support and guidance through Statutory Interventions and referrals when necessary.

Who can I help?

• Children who are withdrawn or anxious
• Children who are having friendship issues
• Parents/carers experiencing difficulties in managing their child's behaviour.
• Parents/carers whose children are not attending school or who have been excluded.
• Parent/carers who may need support on a wide range of issues impacting on their family life i.e. illness, separation, divorce or bereavement.
• Signposting after school clubs, childcare or holiday activities for families.
• Parent/carers who are not sure who to talk to about a situation they are facing at home or school.

Parents/carers, school and children can ask me to become involved. With your consent we will explore the difficulties your child is experiencing and identify the best way forward.

Should a child protection issue be identified, I am legally bound to follow Government guidelines.

This page will be updated regularly with advice, support and suggestions for Thomas Harding families.

Nurture Group

At lunchtimes we run a Nurture Group. It is open to anyone and it provides the opportunity for our pupils to have a chat with others and focus on building their social, emotional skills. An example timetable is below and we send these out every week for you to look at.

Follow the attached link to help keep your child safe online (Internet Watch Foundation)

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) tells us that 'since the start of the pandemic, the amount of ‘self-generated’ child abuse imagery has increased dramatically. In 2020, the IWF confirmed 68,000 cases of such imagery, a rise of 77% on the year before. It accounts for nearly half (44%) the imagery we took action on last year. In 80% of these cases, the victims were 11- to 13-year-old girls.'

The IWF has created a resource to help parents and carers understand the risks of 'self-generated child sexual abuse imagery' using the acronym 'TALK'.

To find out more, go to: https://talk.iwf.org.uk

Winter Time

The resources below will help remind children, including teenagers, about road safety and keeping safe in the dark.

Teaching Road Safety: A Guide for Parents https://www.rospa.com/media/documents/road-safety/teaching-road-safety-a-guide-for-parents.pdf

Safety First – Cycling at Night https://www.cycletraining.co.uk/cycle-training-and-cycle-safety/safety-first-cycling-at-night/

Teaching road safety: guide for educators https://www.brake.org.uk/how-we-help/raising-awareness/schools-and-families

Road safety teaching resources for children https://www.think.gov.uk/education-resources/

Be Bright, Be Seen Poster https://6282.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Be_Bright_Be_Seen-A5-Flyer.pdf

Keeping Children Safe in the Dark https://firstaidforlife.org.uk/keeping-children-safe-in-dark/

Dark Nights https://www.childcare.co.uk/information/dark-nights-children-safety

Be Bright Be Seen https://brightkidz.co.uk/initiatives/be-bright-be-seen/ 

Support for parent/carers with children who have mental health concerns

Parenting Smart (Place2Be)

The children's mental health charity, Place2Be, has launched a new website aimed at helping parents with typical situations they can find themselves in with their children.

Advice can be found on over forty topics including:

• Understanding sibling rivalry 
• My child is lying, what does it mean, what should I do?
• My child has trouble going to sleep
• My child says ‘I hate you!’
• Cultural identity: who am I?

The Parenting Smart website can found here: https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/

Useful Links 

NSPCC

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

Secondary Transfer

Place2Be, the mental health charity, has some helpful information for parents to help them support their children for what can be a daunting time. 

For more information: https://www.place2be.org.uk/what-we-do/parent-carer-resources/ready-for-secondaryhigh-school.aspx  

Advice and Guidance on Kids Health- https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/stay-healthy/.

Family Learning- Free courses for parents/carers to help support their child's learning. https://www.bucksfamilyinfo.org/kb5/buckinghashire/fsd/service...

Free impartial information service for families with children aged 0-19years (or up to 25yrs SEN)- www.bucksfamilyinfo.org

Child Line healthy children facts and more- https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/you-your-body/mybody/staying-healthy/

NHS non emergency information dial 111

The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families- is a children's mental health charity with over 60 years experience of caring for young minds. Their vision is a world in which children and their families are effectively supported to build on their own strengths to achieve their goals in life. For more information see link- https://www.annafreud.org/parents/