Parents/carers – support and advice

Help & Support information

We are regularly updating the school website with the latest information and activities, including our ‘Help & Support’ page: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/support.html

Free School Meals National Voucher Scheme and Universal Credit

Children eligible for free school meals can benefit from a national voucher scheme allowing them to continue to access meals whilst they stay at home. Families of eligible free school meals students have been contacted by school to receive a weekly shopping voucher worth £15 to spend at supermarkets while schools are closed due to coronavirus.

The vouchers are sent as an e-code which can be redeemed as an e-voucher. The e-voucher can be downloaded to a smartphone or printed to use and can be spent on food at a range of shops including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Waitrose and M&S. The Department for Education is working to get more shops to join the scheme as soon as possible.

If you have not received an email from school and are a family who is eligible for free

school meals please contact the Finance department (finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk). If you have received an email but not yet responded, please do so as soon as possible so the vouchers can be sent out to you.

If you are a family who have had to apply for Universal Credit for the first time to help you out during these difficult times, please remember to apply for Free School Meals and let us know if you are successful by forwarding your confirmation email to us so we can change your status and add you to the voucher/hamper schemes school is operating.

If you feel you may be eligible for Free School Meals you can contact the Free School Meals team in any of the following ways:

Email: checking@derbyshire.gov.uk Telephone: 01629 536400 / 01629 535743 Families can also apply directly online at: https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/education/schools/your-child-at-school/meals/school-meals/freeschool-meals.aspx

‘We Are Highfields Fund’ 2020

Application forms for the We Are Highfields Fund can be requested from the finance office (finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) or by phone (01629 832325), your child’s year manager or website http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/WeAreHighfieldsApplication.docx. This is a hardship grant and is considered on a case by case basis. This grant scheme will be paid out until funds are exhausted. To be eligible you must be a parent/carer of a students at Highfields School and have savings of less than £1,000 per person or £2,000 for a family or couple (including rolling bank balance).

Highfields Emergency Childcare

Since 23 March, in line with scientific advice, schools have remained open only to a priority group of children and young people, children who have a parent/carer who is a critical worker and vulnerable children.

Now that the government have made progress in reducing the transmission of coronavirus they are encouraging all eligible children to attend settings (where there are no shielding concerns for the chid or their household). As you are aware from w/c 15 June we are offering face-to-face support for Y10 and Y12 students on a phased return.

Children of critical workers, and vulnerable children who are already eligible, will continue to be offered a place in Highfields Emergency Childcare, regardless of the year group they are in.

If you are a keyworker and require emergency childcare, please contact Mrs Leverton by Friday each week with specific details regarding the days and times of the following week that emergency childcare is required (lleverton@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk).

The definition of critical workers remains unchanged. A full list of keyworkers can be accessed on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintainingeducational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintainingeducational-provision

Derbyshire County Council Advice on COVID-19 for Parents/Carers

We appreciate some parents/carers and children may be worried about themselves, members of their family, or their friends becoming ill. There’s lots of advice about how to talk to your child about Coronavirus.

Below is a list of helpful resources:

National Autistic Society – guidance and helpline for parents, young people and staff https://www.autism.org.uk/services/nas-schools/vanguard/news/2020/march/coronavirus- (covid-19)-advice.aspx

Mencap - Easy Read guide to coronavirus https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/health/coronavirus

Place2Be – Have a useful guide for helping parents answer questions from their children and to support family wellbeing https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/2020/march/coronavirus-informationfor-children/

Young Minds - Talking to your child about coronavirus and 10 tips from their Parents Helpline to support family wellbeing https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/talking-to-your-child-about-coronavirus/ Carers UK - Guidance for carers https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/health/looking-after-your-health/coronavirus-covid-19 Covibook is an interactive resource designed to support and reassure children aged 7 and under, designed to help children explain and draw the emotions that they might be experiencing during the pandemic https://www.mindheart.co/descargables Amaze - information pack for parents/carers https://amazesussex.org.uk/faqs-about-the-coronavirus-for-parent-carers-of-children-with-sendbrighton-hove/

Public Health England

Public Health England have produced an easy read version of their advice on the coronavirus for places of education. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england

You can download a copy from Easy Read Online. https://www.easy-read-online.co.uk/media/53192/advice-on-the-coronavirus-v1.pdf

COVID-19 Chesterfield Support Network

http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/COVID19_Support_v3.pdf

NSPCC Coronavirus link

The link below is from the NSPCC with some helpful advice on speaking to young people about the Coronavirus. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/childrens-mental-health/depression-anxiety-mentalhealth/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Talking%20to%20a%20child%20worried% 20about%20coronavirus%20%28COVID-19%29&utm_campaign=CASPAR-2019-03-30

CAMHS resource

The CAMHS website contains resources and links to support young people and families with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Website: https://www.camhs-resources.co.uk/

Domestic abuse

Boots are offering a safe space for domestic abuse victims. Website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52495434

Online Safety

During the school closures our children will be spending more time online and we are aware that not all parents/carers may be as engaged as they usually are as they try to balance work deadlines with childcare. Screen time is inevitably going to win at some point for most families and it is more important than before that we remind parents/carers of the key role in helping to keep children safe.

The YouTube clip below is to remind parents/carers of the importance of engaging with their child/s online lives during this time. Additional clips will be released and cover issues such as parental controls (and how to set them), which apps have seen a surge in popularity since the pandemic and age specific information aimed at 0-5's, 6 - 11's and over 11's. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhLWwQ4Ay5s

Traci Good, Director of E Safety Training Ltd Safeguarding, Derbyshire County Council

Online Prescription Delivery Pharmacy2U deliver prescriptions to homes for any families unable to get out to the local chemists. https://www.pharmacy2u.co.uk/

Online Safety Advice from SV2

SV2 is a charity in Derbyshire that provides support services to victims of sexual violence. They are also offering help and advice about online safety covering online grooming, social media privacy and what to do if you become a victim of online harm. See SV2 website: www.sv2.org.uk

SV2: Supporting victims of Sexual Violence Web Chat on line Forum - July

Please see below for new dates for SV2s June/July web chat facility.

Food supplies Jigsaw Jigsaw food bank have crisis food parcels daily, as well as a 12 weekly delivery on Thursdays. Weekly food parcels will be delivered to families who are referred by a professional.

Food bank There is a food bank based at 23 Firs Parade, Matlock that is very well stocked. If you need this assistance or know anyone that does and might not be aware of it, please pass this on.

John Palin https://johnpalinlocal.co.uk/ John Palin Wholesale is a large independent supplier and distributor of fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, bakery and dairy items.

10 top tips from the Highfields Cluster Family Support Team

Highfields family support team wanted to provide some helpful tips to help families during this current lockdown. Information is available on the school website through the link below: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/HelpfulTipsForParentsAndCarersDuringLock down.pdf

Helping children and young people to manage anxiety

If a child is displaying signs of anxiety how can you support them? A practical guide to supporting pupils and students during periods of disruption from the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families: https://www.annafreud.org/media/11465/helping-cyp-manage-anxiety-apr2020-v3.pdf