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Well-being support and resources for parents
Whilst we will always work with parents to help them support their children, there is a wide range of support available for parents beyond school. Below is a list of organisations, websites, books and publications which parents and young people may find useful.
What is Delivering Special Provision Locally (DSPL) ?
DSPL is a Hertfordshire-wide partnership approach where parents, staff in early years settings and schools, further education colleges, local authority officers and representatives from other agencies, work together as part of an Area Group, reviewing and developing the range of provision and support services available to their local community that :
- Meets the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), aged 0-25, as close to home as possible.
- Improves outcomes for wellbeing and attainment
- Widens choice for children and parents/carers
- Removes barriers to learning
- Uses resources more effectively
Other Organisations
Families First (Early Help, Hertfordshire)- Families First is the name for Hertfordshire’s Early Help support. As a parent, if you need other professionals to help you manage a situation within the family, Families First can facilitate the means to access this support. Sometimes it is useful to know what kind of support is on offer in your area. Click on the link below to explore the range of services, support and advice available to you. You will also find links to parenting courses that many parents have already found really helpful with practical, down to earth tips and strategies: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/families-first/families-first.aspx
Hertfordshire’s Early Help support
Hillingdon’s Early Help support can be accessed by contacting the team around the family (TAF) Co-ordinator at taf@hillingdon.gov.uk or call 01895 556144. Alternatively you can download their leaflet for families at:
For families living in Harrow please follow the following link where you will be able to download an information for families leaflet:
If you live in Buckinghamshire you can find information about Early Help by going to:
Wellbeing Signposting Guide for Young People
This publication has a list of a range of local and national organisations which support young people and or their families. These organisations cover a range of issues (e.g. emotional and mental well-being, eating disorders, bereavement, sexuality & gender). This resources also contains a number of useful apps.
Websites and helplines
Childline– www.childline.org.uk
Tel: 0800 1111 – a place for young people to get the support they need on a range of issues
Kooth– www.kooth.com
Offers advice and information for young people as well as online counselling
Young Minds– www.youngminds.org.uk
Contains information and advice for both young people and parents – parents helpline – 0808 8025544
NSPCC– www.nspcc.org.uk has an extensive section for parents on keeping your child safe and how to manage a number of issues including online safety, sexting, pornography, drugs & alcohol, gangs, mental health, separation and divorce, as well child protection and abuse.
The Wellbeing Service www.talkwellbeing.co.uk
For young people 16+ and adults in Hertfordshire who are finding life challenging – lack of sleep, feeling stressed or anxious, fed up and tearful
www.healthyyoungmindsinherts.org.uk
This website offers parents and young people a range of top tips, resources and links to other websites.
Books and other publications
There are times when our children can be so afraid of failure that they will either refuse to try or they will deliberately fail in order to make a point that they can’t do it (whatever “it” may be). This is known as having a fixed mind-set. Children, or adults who have a fixed mind-set believe that there is no point in trying if it is likely that they 
will fail. When this happens we need to help them develop a growth mind-set. Someone with a growth mind-set has the view “I can’t do it now, but with some effort, some practice, I will get better at it.”
If you think your child has a tendency to think with a fixed mind-set, Matthew Syed’s book “You are Awesome” is worth a read. Written for children aged 9-13 (but anyone can read it!), Syed (England’s No1 table tennis player for 10 years, sport commentator, journalist and writer) explains how taking a risk, giving it a go, and valuing the importance of effort are the essential ingredients to success in school, sport, music, in life. The book is easy to read with graphics to help the reluctant reader.
It is available as a paperback, kindle edition and audio book.
You are Awesome, Matthew Syed, Wren& Rook, 2018 ISBN-10: 1526361159
Written for parents by parents Sex, Likes and Social Media: Talking to our teens in the digital age, gives practical advice about how to support our teenagers as they manage the way through the minefield of online communication. It helps parents get to grips with the way young people use social media and the impact it can have on their self-worth. The advice given by the authors is based on their professional work with young people, parents, and teachers as well as their experiences with their own children.
Sex, Likes and Social Media: Talking to our teens in the digital age,
Allison Harvey and Deana Puccio, Vermillion, 2016 ISBN-10: 1785040324 (available as paperback/kindle edition)
Written by child psychiatrist, Ian Williamson. We Need to Talk: A straight talking guide to raising resilient teens looks at the different challenges parents and young people face as they learn to manage the teenage year. Williamson explains clearly what young people need, and typically ask for in their often clumsy and uncommunicative way, and gives clear and straight forward ways for parents to not only to meet their teenager’s needs but prepare them for adulthood at the same time. There is a very useful chapter on how to help your teenage cope when a parental relationship ends, which can often more traumatic for young people than they will openly admit.
We Need to Talk: A straight talking guide to raising resilient teens,
Ian Williamson Vermillion, 2017 ISBN-10: 1785041053 (available as paperback/kindle edition)
The very recently revised and published Why won’t my teenager talk to me? by John Coleman also gives very down to earth practical advice on how to talk and listen to your teenager. It also includes a section on the latest understanding of what is happening to the brains of adolescents, giving an insight into some of their behaviours which don’t always appear to be rational to parents.
Why won’t my teenager talk to me?
Dr John Coleman, Routledge, 2018ISBN-10: 1138560472 (available as a paperback/kindle edition)