Early Help Service

Helping Early is support for children and families at the earliest possible stage.

That means, it is an approach that supports families from before birth to when a child turns 18 (or up to 25 years old with a special educational need or disability or those with care experience), families accessing ‘open for all’ services, and families accessing specialist help. It’s aim is to deliver the right help, at the right time and by the right person. 

Helping early support can be about health promotion, strengthening wellbeing, as well as helping a family when they come to an end with children’s social care support through building positive support networks and opportunities together.

Examples of needs where early help support could be needed include: 

• Parents feeling isolated and struggling to cope
• Having a child with additional needs (whether or not they have a diagnosis yet)
• Children going missing from home
• Struggling with your mental health as a parent
• Struggling with your child’s mental health
• Involvement in anti-social behaviour and offending
• Exclusion from school
• Family breakdown
• Co-parenting following a separation
• A child having difficulty settling into school, which may be affecting that child's behaviour
• A young person who is grieving following bereavement  
• Substance misuse by young people
• Working with families where domestic abuse is an issue