Early Help Assessment
The Early Help Assessment provides a standard and coordinated approach for practitioners across agencies and services.
It is designed to help children; young people and their families receive the right support at an early stage before things become too difficult to manage.
This tool should be used at the earliest opportunity when a family’s needs are not being met by universal services or cannot be addressed via single agency support.
Early Help Assessments require consent.
The needs of the family can include anything which affects health, development, wellbeing, and safety of the children.
The professionals involved will meet regularly at the family network meetings with the family to discuss support and put together a plan of what needs to happen.
Early Help Assessments can be initiated and lead by any services which is already supporting a family.
This includes:
- Nursery
- School
- College
- Health Visitor
- School Nurse
- The Building Stronger Families Team
- Voluntary sector services
If you are a parent who would like an Early Help Assessment, you can speak to one of the above services who you are already working with and they can put this in place for you or you can contact the Childrens Front Door on 01325 406222 (option 2).
If you would like to speak to your allocated worker in the Building Stronger Families Team, please contact McNay Street Children’s Centre on 01325 406250.
If you are a professional who would like some Early Help Assessment training, please contact the Early Help Coordinator Kelly-Ann Reay on 01325 405635.
Forms and documents
Early Help Assessment
- Early help process map [pdf document]
- Early Help Assessment – part A [word document]
- Early Help Assessment – part B [word document]
- Family network plan [word document]
Early Help Assessment guidance documentation
- Early Help Assessment part B guidance [pdf document]
- Early Help Assessment strengths and needs [pdf document]
- Service request guidance [pdf document]
- Voice of child guidance [pdf document]
- Guidance for chairing a family network meeting [pdf document]
Early Help Assessment quality assurance
- Practitioner self-assessment [pdf document]
- Early help audit and learning tool [pdf document]
- What makes good guidance? [pdf document]