Early Help

What is Early Help?

Working Together 2023 defines Early Help as support for children of all ages that improves a family’s resilience and outcomes or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse. It is not an individual service, but a system of support delivered by local authorities and their partners working together and taking collective responsibility to provide the right provision in their area. 

At this level of need an Early Help Assessment - Signs of Well-being (EHA) should be completed with the child and family to identify, what is working well, what the worries are and what wellbeing would look like?  A clear plan will be developed by the agencies with the family that is SMART and is focused on what success will look like for the child/ren.

Any professional from a service that supports families can initiate an Early Help Assessment - Signs of Well-being (EHA) and can be carried out with any child or young person from pre-birth up to age 19 (up to the age of 25 if the young person has a learning difficulty or disability).

The completion of an EHA would trigger a response from different agencies.  A date should be set for a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting, in order to identify a coordinator, agree the plan and which agency would work to achieve each of the wellbeing goals.

Early Help Consultancy, Advice and Guidance

Early Help Officers provide Early Help consultancy to support any agency undertaking Early Help work. Early Help consultancy includes:

• Be the first point of contact for advice and guidance, when an agency is unclear if a contact needs to be made to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub
• Advise if the child or family is already open to a children and families services
• Support others to complete an Early Help Assessment Signs of Wellbeing
• Support Early Help coordinators across the partnership around our strengths based approach to the effective delivery of Early Help through briefings, workforce development, information, advice and guidance 
• Provide support and challenge to agencies completing Early Help Assessment Signs of Wellbeing, to ensure that the work they are completing, alongside children and families, has significant and sustained impact
• Identify and address any drift and delay in Early Help cases coordinated by partner agencies.

When an agency or TAF are concerned about how to deliver the plan or are unable to identify an appropriate coordinator, the case should be taken to the Early Help and Family Support Panel.

There is a named Early Help Officer (EHO) for every Team around the School.  The EHO's are the district officers, you can find their contact details here.

• Cumberland Early Help Team dedicated consultation advice and guidance number 0333 2401727
• Westmorland and Furness Early Help Team dedicated consultation advice and guidance number 0300 373 2723