Home School Link Worker (HSLW)

My name is Nickie Tewkesbury and I am the Home School Link Worker for Cleves, Manby Lodge Infant and Oatlands Infant schools.

My role is to develop and maintain positive relationships and act as a link between home and school, and to support parents, families and children with a wide range of issues such as:

• Helping children and families increase school attendance and improve punctuality, and / or assisting parents and carers whose children are reluctant to attend school.
• Offering parents or carers guidance and support with a range of difficulties or issues impacting family life i.e. illness or bereavement, domestic violence, disability, financial difficulties, difficulties with children’s behaviour.

Where required, I can undertake home visits to support families and children.

I work closely with other agencies to help families access other services, resources and local community groups.

I help by:

• filling out forms, such as free school meals (FSM), early help support
• organising workshops for parents to help with a range of topics.

My impact working with families is highest when families engage with me throughout the process e.g. answering the phone, returning calls, attending meetings, following up with agency referrals.