Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

1. What do you offer?
2. Can you work with the whole family?  Are you able to work with my step family?
3. Where do you work with me or my children?
4. When will the work take place?
5. How long will the sessions last? Can you come everyday?
6. How many sessions will there be? When will things be resolved?
7. Are the problems and issues I am having normal?
8. Are you a social worker? Are you able to take my children away?
9. Is it confidential? Will the school be informed about what we talk about?
10. Can you help with my child's learning?
11. Can you support me at meetings?
12. Are you on call 24 hours a day and do you work weekends?
13. What experience do you have?
14. Will you remain neutral between divorced/separated parents?
15. Can you baby-sit for me?
16. Can I add you as a friend on facebook?
17. Where can I find out any information about parenting courses taking place?
18. What happens if I am not happy with your work?

Answers

1. Q. What do you offer?
   A. Tailor-made support and guidance for your family to enable you to enjoy the challenge of family life.  We aim to work together with you to support you and your child to achieve their potential and enhance family life.
   
   We offer a variety of different methods of working with you to make sure that whatever your circumstances we are able to meet your individual needs.  For more information go to the further information page.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
2. Q. Can you work with the whole family?  Are you able to work with my step family?
   A. Yes, the support available to you allows for choice.  It may involve working with the family all together or individually with just you, your partner or your children or you can join other parents in attending a parenting programme.  Your Early Intervention Family Support Worker will work together with you to put together a plan which will identify the right way forward for you.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
3. Q. Where do you work with me or my children?
   A. We work with you wherever you feel most comfortable, so this could be at home or in a children's centre/appropriate safe neutral venue.  This can be discussed with you when we meet. Again, if we are working with your children, we will work with them wherever is most comfortable and appropriate, this could be at home or within the school.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
4. Q. When will the work take place?
   A. This will be arranged with you as a family and school, if necessary, to find the best time. One to one work with children often takes place in school.  For parents we will arrange, as much as possible, to find a time that is convenient to you including early evening visits if needed.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
5. Q. How long will the sessions last? Can you come everyday?
   A. The length and frequency of our visits to you will be discussed and agreed during our initial home visit. Typically we will work with you for one hour, once a week, although as our work is needs led how many and how long our visits with individual families will be is open to discussion with you.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
6. Q. How many sessions will there be?  When will things be resolved?
   A. We aim to work with families over a period of around 6 to12 weeks, with a review at six weeks to check that things are on track.  Our support is negotiated with you, our management and if appropriate school and is reviewed regularly, so if our support is needed for longer we are able to provide this.
   
   We are not able to provide on-going support with no end date. In this case another agency may be better placed to offer this kind of support.  Whilst families often face similar difficulties and issues each family responds and progresses in their own individual way, so no two support packages are ever the same.
   
   The best case scenario is a parent telling us that they now feel able to take things forward on their own and no longer require our support. 
   (Back to the top)
   
   
7. Q. Are the problems and issues I am having normal?
   A. You'd be surprised at how many families face similar issues and concerns!  Being a parent isn't an easy job, we all face difficulties at one time or another. 
   
   Early intervention family support is here to support all families, whether the difficulties you are going through have only just started to affect your family to those situations where things have been getting worse and worse over a period of months or years.
   
   Over 2200 families have now benefited from our support, the most important thing is that you want to improve your situation and are prepared to make positive changes to get things back on track.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
8. Q. Are you a social worker?  Are you able to take my children away?
   A. No, we are not Social Care we are a voluntary service which is why your school asks your consent for our support before we will start working with you and your family. 
   
   As with all agencies we do have a duty to report any concerns where a child or young person may have suffered or be at risk of significant harm in line with the inter-agency child protection procedures for safeguarding children.
   
   We would endeavour to discuss any concerns we had with you, dependant upon circumstances.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
9. Q. Is it confidential?  Will the school be informed about what we talk about?
   A. We have a confidentiality agreement with you, which means the work we carry out is private and will only be discussed with others with your consent.
   
   If you consent we will only share information with other agencies to ensure that you are receiving the best support available.  Confidentiality would only be broken if we had concerns that a child may have suffered or be at risk of significant harm, as above.
   
   At the end of our package of support, with your permission, schools will receive a summary of the work that has been completed.
   (Back to the top)
   
   
10. Q. Can you help with my child's learning?
    A. This needs to be discussed with your child's school, which we can support you with if you require. Schools know and understand your child's learning needs and are best placed to provide any information about further support. 
    
    We encourage parents to be a part of their child's learning as we know that this provides the greatest opportunity for children to succeed at school.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
11. Q. Can you support me at meetings?
    A. Yes, if you would feel more comfortable with an Early Intervention Family Support Worker present.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
12. Q. Are you on call 24 hours a day and do you work weekends?
    A. No, we work a normal working week Monday to Friday but we can be flexible within reason to make sure that the appointments we make with you are at a time that is suited to you and your family.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
13. Q. What experience do you have?
    A. All Early Intervention Family Support Workers (EIFSWs) hold a relevant NVQ3 qualification, as a minimum and undergo a full induction programme which includes shadowing of experienced staff and extensive training which we see as an ongoing process.
    
    EIFSWs come from all types of backgrounds with a wealth of different experiences to draw upon. What all EIFSWs have in common is a good understanding of child development, parenting and family life and will listen to what you have to say and work together with your family to put together a plan to help improve the situation.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
14. Q. Will you remain neutral between divorced/separated parents?
    A. We work with many divorced/separated parents, our primary focus is always your child and our aim is to improve their circumstances, not to take sides between parents.  What we won't do is act as a middle-man between disputing parents, there are other agencies who are better placed to provide this kind of support.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
15. Q. Can you baby-sit for me?
    A. No, we don't provide this kind of service but we can direct you to the Family Information Service who will be able to help you find a babysitter.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
16. Q. Can I add you as a friend on facebook?
    A. No, whilst we try to build a close, positive working relationship with you it is still a professional relationship and therefore not appropriate for us to be friends on social networking sites.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
17. Q. Where can I find out any information about parenting courses taking place?
    A. Please follow the link to the parenting programmes page.
    (Back to the top)
    
    
18. Q. What happens if I am not happy with your work?
    A. In the first instance if you are unhappy with the support that you are currently receiving then don't hesitate to contact your area Team Co-ordinator or if you feel it is appropriate discuss your feelings with your EIFSW.
    
    We welcome and encourage all families to provide feedback, whether positive or negative, on the service they have received from early intervention family support. We provide all families with a parental satisfaction questionnaire to complete at the end of our support. Some of the comments are here.
    (Back to the top)