What is Early Help?
‘Early Help’ means providing help for children, young people and families as soon as concerns start to emerge or where it is likely that issues will impact negatively on children’s outcomes. Early help:
- is for children of all ages and not just the very young
- can be very effective in supporting a child, young person and/or their family to step down from statutory services as well as preventing the escalation of issues.
- is important because there is clear evidence that it results in better outcomes for children.
Day to Day Support
Most families, most of the time, can get on with their lives quite happily with little or no outside help. If they need help it is usually provided by universal services, such as schools.
Focused Pastoral Support
All families can have times, when difficulties arise, and they either may not recognise it or may not know how to start putting things right. Schools play a role in supporting families to address these difficulties through more focused pastoral support, which might include bringing in support via an external agency.
Early Help Assessment
For those children and families whose needs and circumstances make them more vulnerable, or where schools need the support of other agencies to meet the needs of the family, a co-ordinated multi-agency approach is usually best. In Leicester this is achieved through undertaking an Early Help Assessment and assigning a Lead Practitioner to work closely with the family to ensure they receive the support they require. North Mead Primary Academy is a key partner in any multi-agency work to support families.
Please click on the link below for more information about our Early Help offer at North Mead Primary Academy and the Leicester City Council early help offer:
leaflet-early-help-services-for-families-version-1 early-help-and-prevention-offer
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