Early Help
Accessing support from Children’s Services Single Point of Contact
If you have identified a child or family who you think would benefit from an Early Help Assessment, then this should be discussed and initiated with the family’s agreement.
Professionals should seek advice from their manager or safeguarding lead and refer to the relevant policies and procedures including the Helping Children and Families in North Lincolnshire document.
If you require further advice you may wish to contact the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) on 01724 296500.
Family Support Services and One Family Hub – Request for service
The below request for service form should be used by professionals who believe that additional support is required from Family Support Services or the One Family Hub. This form should not be used instead of making a referral to Children’s Services Single Point of Contact.
For further details on how to report concerns about a child, see the Children, Young People and Families page.
If this request requires immediate consideration, please complete this request form AND hold a discussion with a Family Support Service Team Leader or The One Family Hub. The form should be completed in full and submitted via email to fasst.enquiries@northlincs.gov.uk;
Early Help Training
Early Help Awareness e-Workbook
This e-Workbook provides all staff with a basic awareness of early help practice and process. It provides information about what early help is and why we undertake early help.
Upon completion, certificates are issued on behalf of the Children’s MARS Board.
Early Help Practice Forums
These termly forums provide an opportunity for practitioners from across schools, family support, other staff in the local authority and other agencies to share best practice, seek solutions around current early help plans and receive peer support.
Upcoming dates and papers from previous forums are available in the Early Help Practice Forum section to the right of this page.
Masterclass – Early Help Practice and Process
As part of the Children’s MARS training programme, Early Help Practice and Process training is available to book.
This training aims to increase practitioners’ understanding of early help and enhance skills in assessing need using the new Early Help Assessment. It is aimed at practitioners who will be supporting families as part of an early help plan.
You will learn:
- The purpose and process
- Why and how we help families using early help
- The local context
- Levels of intervention and support
- Practical skills and process
- How to complete a good quality Early Help Assessment and
effective planning with families
For upcoming dates and information on how to book, please visit the training page.
Early Help
Early help is support for children of all ages that improves a family’s resilience and outcomes or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse.
When early help is needed, we know that families want help from people and professionals that they know and trust. The One Family Approach gives the permissions for professionals, including those working with adult family members, to act early and provide the help that is needed.
In line with the One Family Approach, professionals should seek to enable families to find solutions, based upon their strengths, to improve outcomes and be independent from services.
Professionals should know when and how to make a plan for a child and their family, when they should access further help and support from their manager or partner agencies, and when to refer to Children’s Services in line with the specialist level of need which is outlined in the One Family Approach – Helping Children and Families in North Lincolnshire document.
Working Together 2018 places a statutory responsibility on the safeguarding partners and other local organisations and agencies to work together to:
- identify children and families who would benefit from early help
- undertake an assessment of the need for early help
- provide targeted early help services to address the assessed needs of a child and their family which focuses on activity to improve the outcomes for the child
Early Help video
Below is the link to a video on early help which can be shared with families. The video shares information on what early help is and how families can access support.
Early Help Online System
Notice 21/02/2024 – The Early Help System will be offline from 8am to 8pm for essential maintenance. Apologies for the inconvenience.
If you have not used the online early help system before, you will need to register your details using the below link. You only need to do this once as your details will be remembered by the system for ease in entering future forms:
Create Early Help Assessor Profile
To record an Early Help Assessment and start the early help process, please use the link below:
Once you have recorded an Early Help Assessment the system will automatically email you a link to the review form, you’ll need to save this link for when you want to record the review meeting details. Closing an early help plan is also completed online after you record the ‘Final Review’ you will receive a link to the Closure Summary.
Please note that the online system does not have a save progress feature, the form must be completed in one sitting, therefore it may be helpful to record the assessment or review information gathered and copy and paste it onto the online system. Template forms are available below for this purpose.
Further instructions on using the Early Help online system can be found in the help card below:
Early Help Guidance and Template Forms
Here you will find everything you need to begin an Early Help Assessment.
Guidance and information
- Children’s MARS guidance – Early Help
- Children’s MARS guidance – Role of the Lead Professional
- Children’s MARS guidance – Early Help and Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
- Early Help Assessment – Form completion guidance
- Early Help Assessment – Leaflet for families
- 7 minute briefing – Early help best practice
Template forms
Please ensure that you record your Early Help Assessment, Review Plan and Closure Summary using the online system. These templates are for practitioners to use as drafts only prior to inputting the information into the relevent form on the online system.
Contact
For process enquiries contact: earlyhelp@northlincs.gov.uk
Annual report
The below report provides an overview of the strategic context of our One Family Approach, a summary of the local Early Help offer to children and families, an overview of the key outcomes achieved and feedback from children, young people and their families. It also provides case studies of early help in practice and our priorities for improvement and development during 2023/24.
Annual report of the effectiveness and impact of North Lincolnshire’s Early Help offer 2022-23
Early Help Practice Forums
These sessions are held termly and focus on practice and developments.
Upcoming Dates
- 6 February 2024, 3.15 to 4.30
- 11 June 2024, 3.15 to 4.30
For queries or further information, please contact Helen Parker, Safeguarding Education Officer on helen.parker@northlincs.gov.uk or Helen Blaydes, One Family Approach Policy Manager on helen.blaydes@northlincs.gov.uk