Welcome to the Family Support webpage.
Your Family Support Worker is Thomas Zheng. To get in contact, please email thomas.zheng@stcmat.org or call reception to arrange a call back. Thomas is available for telephone consultations, in-person appointments, or just for quick chat in the playground most days during drop-off or pick-up.
Every child is different.
What might work for one child may not work for another. At Ladysmith, we believe that everybody involved in raising and education our children should work collaboratively. Our Family Support Worker, Thomas Zheng, is an integral part of this.
Thomas can provide advice, guidance, and facilitates referrals to help families navigate difficulties which life may throw at them.
How can Thomas help?
Finances
- Referrals to food banks in Exeter
- Support with applications for grants and charities
- General advice and signposting for Universal Credit (UC) and other benefits, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disabled Living Allowance (DLA), and Council Tax Reductions
- Support with filling in forms and making telephone calls
Housing
- General advice and signposting on applications with Devon Home Choice (DHC)
- Support with letters and forms, including banding appeals
- Welfare checks during periods of settlement in new/temporary accommodation or periods of housing instability
- Support with "suitable accommodation", emergency housing, and homelessness, whether threatened or actual
Physical and Mental Health
- Welfare checks in periods of emotional difficulty, loneliness, and isolation
- Emotional support and signposting to services, including for domestic abuse, family conflict, separation, bereavement, and if you and your family feel unsafe
- Support with filling in forms and making telephone calls
- Keeping an eye on children who may be undergoing temporary emotional dysregulation due to big changes in the family
Routine, Boundaries, and Behaviour
- Advice on structured routines, difficulties getting into school in the mornings. etc.
- Support for children who may need extra help to settle down into school in the mornings
- Advice and signposting on difficult behaviour, emerging or changing behaviour, and sleep difficulties
- Referrals to external agencies with more specialised services, such as Home Start or the Devon Family Hub
- Facilitating Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) referrals and acting as liaison between school, parent, child, and external agencies (multi-agency working)
Additionally, Thomas works with families who are engaged in Early Help, as well as monitors attendance across the school.
Thomas will deliver the Timid to Tiger (T2T) anxiety course, which will run twice yearly, and will go on to lead future interventions and coffee mornings for parents. He will also support enhanced transition arrangements for pupils moving to Ladysmith Junior during summer term.
For more information on Timid to Tiger, please contact your Family Support Worker.
What is Early Help?
Early Help is a voluntary, consensual process for families who feel they need additional support. It is a structured process which is designed to provide ongoing support and prevent needs escalating. This often involves regular meetings with families and other
professionals involved in your children’s care and a regularly updated action plan specific to your family’s needs.
Please note, Early Help works best when it involves all members of your household. Adults with parental responsibility can consent for children aged younger than 13, but children 13 or older will need to consent for themselves. If you have children at different schools, this may involve working across the schools to get your family the best support possible.
What is attendance?
Attendance is how much time your children are spending in school. In the first academic term after your child turns 5, the school and those with parental responsibility have a legal duty to keep children in school. For those with low or dropping attendance, the Family Support Worker may reach out to discuss your circumstances, encourage attendance, and provide necessary support. On rare occasions, this may involve home visits.
In some cases, the Family Support Worker may lead on the ATTEND process. ATTEND is a three-way collaboration between the school, the child and the family to identify barriers to attendance and address these issues proactively.
General Signposting - all information was correct at time of writing. If you find any outdated information or broken links please contact us as soon as possible and we will look into it. New signposting is always being added; watch this space!
For Health and SEND
Your first port of call should always be your General Practitioner (GP), whether the
concern is physical or mental health. Your GP can also facilitate most SEND referrals.
In an emergency, you should call 999 immediately.
DiAS - Devon Information Advice and Support devonias.org.uk
A free service providing information, advice, and support on SEND, including online resources
CFHD - Children and Family Health Devon childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk
An NHS service which acts as the main referral point for physical and mental health for children and families. Many referrals for neurodivergence and anxiety are also processed by CFHD.
Normal Magic normalmagic.co.uk
A paid, mental health support service for children aged 0-18 with no threshold and no referral process. There are some useful free resources.
LumiNova luminova.app
A free game in app form, downloadable on most devices in partnership with the NHS, designed to be a therapeutic intervention for children aged 7-12 to self-manage worries and build resilience. Access is free for Devon residents but you may require a code to
unlock access; please contact your Family Support Worker for the code.
For Specialist Advice and Grants
Citizens Advice Exeter citizensadviceexeter.org.uk
A free advice service available for in-person, telephone, or email consultation regarding a wide variety of needs, from housing and consumer complaints to energy and legal issues. The local Citizens Advice is Exeter in Dix’s Field, though depending on your
residential address, you may come under a different office’s jurisdiction. Citizens Advice Exeter have regular drop-in sessions. There is also a wealth of information online regarding most common issues on the national site, found here: citizensadvice.org.uk
SHELTER shelter.org.uk
A free advice service specialising in housing issues. SHELTER has a wealth of information available online regarding almost all housing law and you can contact them for advice without referral. Professionals such as the Family Support Worker have access to a further in-depth service within SHELTER; if you believe your case to be particularly complex or niche, please speak to your Family Support Worker who can make enquiries on your behalf.
ACAS acas.org.uk
A free advice service specialising in employment. ACAS has a wealth of information online regarding almost all employment-related enquiries and you can contact them for advice without referral.
Turn2Us turn2us.org.uk
An extensive online database which is able show you relevant grants and bursaries based on your personal circumstances. They also feature a PIP assistance tool and a benefits calculator on their website. Grants and bursaries can be for a variety of needs,
from white foods to disability.
University of Exeter Community Law Clinic law.exeter.ac.uk/community/communitylawclinic
The Community Law Clinic at the University of Exeter allows for pre-qualified law students to practice serving clients who are ineligible for legal aid or otherwise unable to afford private legal advice. They are supervised by a qualified solicitor at all times. Wait lists are known to be long.
The Law Society solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk
If you have a complex legal issue which cannot be dealt with sufficiently through your Family Support Worker or an advice charity, you may seek professional legal advice from a solicitor. The Law Society has a tool which allows you to search for a solicitor in
your area based on your requirements. Please note, engaging a solicitor is likely to be costly; you will need to consider whether you are willing and able to incur these costs before proceeding.
Family Support Workers are not allowed to recommend a specific solicitor or firm. Furthermore, Family Support Workers are restricted from advising on certain protected areas, including specialist financial advice, pensions, and immigration.
For External Family Support
Home Start Exeter homestarteemd.org.uk
A free charity service which can offer parenting support through the placement of a volunteer in your home, as well as digital support. Home Start also run courses for couples who may be in conflict and for survivors of domestic abuse. Please note, depending on your residence address, you might come under the jurisdiction of a different office.
Parental Minds parentalminds.org.uk
A service that provides free resources, guides, and peer support for families. They also have 1:1 counselling services at affordable costs.
Devon Family Hubs devon.gov.uk/children-families-education/child-family-support/family-support/family-hubs
Family Hubs are run by Devon County Council and offer drop-in sessions at their dedicated hubs for providing family support for families of children up to age 19 (or 25 with SEND), including 1:1 support. They also accept self-referrals as well as referrals from professionals. There is also a dedicated telephone line which can be called for general advice and signposting.