• At St Philip’s Church of England Primary School, we are proud to be a diverse and welcoming school family. Around 23% of our children have English as an additional language (EAL), and many of our families speak another language at home.

  We recognise that being able to speak more than one language is a strength and a very special gift. A child’s home language is an important part of their identity, family relationships and learning, and we encourage families to continue using and celebrating it.

  Some children arrive at St Philip’s already confident in English, while others may be at the very beginning of learning the language. Every child is different. Our aim is to make sure children feel safe, included and able to participate fully in school life, while building their confidence and fluency in English.

  In keeping with our school vision, “Christ in everything we do,” we want every child and family to know that they belong at St Philip’s.

  How you can help your child at home

  Keep speaking your home language
  Talk, play, tell stories and ask questions in the language you know best. Strong communication and vocabulary in a child’s first language can provide an important foundation for learning.

  Share books together
  Read stories in your home language as well as English. Talk about the pictures, characters and what might happen next. It is the conversation around a book that is particularly valuable.

  Talk about the school day
  Ask your child about something they enjoyed, learned or found difficult. If they do not yet have the English words, let them explain in their home language.

  Use English in everyday situations
  Shopping, cooking, travelling and playing are all opportunities to learn useful words naturally. Keep it enjoyable rather than making English feel like a test.

  Songs and rhymes are brilliant
  Nursery rhymes, songs, action rhymes and simple repetitive stories can help children hear and practise the sounds, rhythm and patterns of English.

  Give your child time
  Children learning a new language may understand much more than they are ready to say. Some children go through a quieter period while they listen, observe and build confidence. Keep talking and including them without putting pressure on them to speak.

  Celebrate being multilingual
  Being able to communicate in more than one language is something to be proud of. Encourage your child to value the languages spoken within your family.

  Helping families communicate with school

  Please never worry about contacting us because English is not your first language. We want all parents and carers to feel able to ask questions, share concerns and be involved in their child's education.

  If there is something you do not understand, please tell us. We will always do our best to help make school information clear and accessible.

  You might find it helpful to:

• ask us to explain school words or phrases that are unfamiliar
• ask questions if you are unsure about a letter, message or school expectation
• bring a trusted friend or family member to a meeting if this would help you
• let your child's teacher know which language or languages are spoken at home
• tell us if there is anything that would make communication between home and school easier.
• Ask us to use translation software or to engage an interpreter for important meetings with wider agencies. 

• A message to our families

  You do not need to stop speaking your home language to help your child learn English.

  Keep talking, reading, singing, playing and sharing stories together in the language in which you feel most comfortable. Your child's language and culture are an important part of who they are, and we want them to be celebrated at St Philip’s.

  Every language is welcome. Every family belongs. Every child matters.

• https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/resources/guidance/parental-involvement/ A really useful website with a lot of helpful information for parents and carers. 

• Helping children learn: Guidance for parents of students who use English as an Additional Language Easy to understand guides for parents of students who use EAL, available in the 22 most commonly used first languages in UK schools

• Is English your second language? LILA Liverpool offer a multitude of services which may be useful

Therapeutic Team

 Prayer

 

Praying is a very simple but powerful thing you can do with or for a child.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not used to praying. There are no rules about what words you should say, how long your prayers should be, where, or how often you pray.

Prayer is quite simply a conversation with God. Having him to trust and help us in any moment of life is both comforting and amazing.

When to pray

You can pray whenever you like, at ordinary times and on special days.

These are just a few examples of milestones in a child’s life when prayer might be especially helpful:

• The christening day
• Birthdays
• Christening anniversaries
• First day at school
• Difficult times – being poorly, facing problems and sadness
• Moving on to secondary school
• Exam times
• New relationships

• And, you can pray wherever you like – at home, in the car, on a walk, but some people like to find a quiet space somewhere.

  The more you pray, the more familiar it will become. In fact, your own prayer journey can be just as amazing for you as it is for the child.

  Learning how to pray

  These are some easy ways to begin to pray:

• Hold or look at a photo of the child you’re praying for and ask God to bless them today.
• Light a candle, and as you watch it burn, ask God to bless your child and help them be a light for others as they grow up.
• Imagine Jesus at your side and talk to him as if talking to your closest friend. Tell him everything that’s on your mind about your child, your family, worries, things you’re thankful for, how you can support them. Ask for his help and guidance.

• Helping children to pray

  These are a few simple ways to help a child to pray.

• Teaching them the Lord’s Prayer and talking about what each line means. Prayer cubes can be a good way to help with this.
• Giving them a prayer book to suit their age. There are many available; Eden.
• There are lots of types of prayer, including saying ‘Thank you’ to God for all the things we’re glad about, saying ‘Sorry’ for wrong things we’ve done and regret, and saying ‘Please’ for things we’d like God to do, or things we need help with.

• The first letter of each of those words spells ‘TSP’, the same as the abbreviation for ‘teaspoon’. To help a child to remember those types of prayers, you could put three teaspoons in a jar, each with a different letter on (T, S or P) and then invite them to take one out and think of a prayer they’d like to say to God.

Bereavement

https://www.childbereavementuk.org/ helps families to begin to rebuild or just to carry on during times of bereavement, grief and loss.

 

General support and guidance

Sefton Directory Use the search facility to find support in the local area.

https://parenting2000.org.uk/ free, confidential support and services for families.

https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/our-work-and-impact/children-and-families/parenting-support/ free support for tricky times.

 

Team Around the School

https://www.sefton.gov.uk/childrens-services/early-help/helping-families-early-what-we-do/team-around-the-school/

The Team Around The School (TAS) involves multiple professionals coming together to make sure that worries are dealt with at the earliest point and you receive the help you and your family need.

Benefits of Team Around The School

Every family could benefit from Team Around the School and everyone needs help and support at times and that is ok. These are some of the worries you may be facing that a Team Around the School approach can help you with:

• Speech and Language Development
• Family Routines
• Health Concerns
• Drug and Alcohol Misuse
• Housing Support
• Parenting
• Money Worries
• Managing Behaviour
• Parental Relationships
• Emotional Health and Wellbeing

How Does Team Around the School Work?

When you work with your child’s school to discuss your family’s needs they will ask for your agreement to work together with your family.

This information is shared with a core group of professionals from early help, education, and health – plus professionals who are specialists in a specific area of work. They will then work together to identify the best package of support for you and your family.

The Team Around the School meetings are arranged by someone who knows you and your family, for example, School or Nursery and they will take place in those settings.

At these meetings, the school will make sure that your wishes and feelings are shared, are at the heart of the discussion and remain the priority. You will then work with someone from the team to develop a support plan, which is tailored to your families needs. At any stage if you feel that you no longer need this support a conversation will take place to discuss your decision.

Schools and professionals will follow government guidance on information sharing when considering and explaining support available from the Team Around the School.

Your child’s school will:

• Explain the options of support available from different partner services
• Agree with you the support services you would like to access
• Support you to make links with the services who will be leading on the work with you and your family