Information for practitioners

Early help for families

Our Early Help for Families Service works with families with children up to the age of 19 to:

  • ensure they progress in their normal settings
  • provide targeted services to prevent their needs from escalating

The kind of support we provide includes:

  • parenting skills
  • setting boundaries
  • family relationships
  • substance abuse
  • practical issues such as housing or budgeting

The child or young person may be experiencing problems with their health or learning. They could also be struggling with relationships with their peers and emotional problems. These problems may put them at risk of:

  • bullying
  • truancy
  • offending
  • anti-social or risky behaviour

Interventions

Interventions from our services are:

  • voluntary
  • aimed at less complex problems
  • usually short term 

Complex situations that need long-term interventions should be referred to the Children in Need or Child Protection Services.

Find out more including how to make a referral.

Co-ordinated support

A key worker will work with the family to:

  • co-ordinate access to support packages from other services
  • regularly review progress
  • agree an exit plan once the child has completed the support package
  • help the child and family access other support and services

Work in partnership

If you are interested in working in partnership and want to understand how our service can help, contact Letitia Bradley, Acting Team Manager, using our main contact page.

Last updated: 29 November 2019