Early Help

The Early Help offer is to provide ‘help to all that need it’. It is a voluntary process that helps children, young people and those closest to them at the earliest possible stage to prevent issues becoming overwhelming and difficult to manage.

The Early Help Team offer a number of different ways to support you and your family:

• Parenting programmes
• Monthly Parenting Insight Sessions
• Building Resilience in Families (BRIF) meetings
• Community Early Help Assessments and
• a Family Partner can offer support in different ways.

If you would like to speak to a Social Care Worker about support, please contact the Access and Referral Hub on 0300 300 8585 or email cs.accessandreferral@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

If you would like to speak to a Social Care Worker about support, please contact the Access and Referral Hub on 0300 300 8585 or email cs.accessandreferral@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

The Social Care Worker will speak with you about the support needs of you and your child. They can offer support and information around:

• Information and advice
  
• Community Early Help Assessment and support
  
• Parent Carer Needs Assessment and support
  
• Early Help Plus Assessment and support
  
• Child and Family Assessment and support
  

They will talk with you about how best to support the needs of you and your family based on your individual circumstances.

Note: For children with a recognised disability, if a parent wishes, a child and family assessment carried out by a social worker will be progressed, irrespective of level of need.  

The Social Care worker may discuss with you some of the following things when you contact us:

Parenting Programmes

We offer several different parenting programmes. These can be for parents to be all the way up to parents with teenagers. These sessions can be either online or face to face.

Parent Insight Sessions

Every month the Early Help Team organise webinars focusing on key areas, including Strategies to support children with strong emotions, self-harm and transitions. The sessions are supported by organisations and services that can offer advice around issues that may be affecting you as a parent or your child. Signposting is also available at these sessions to local support and services.

Building Resilience in Families (BRIF)

Building Resilience in Families (BRIF) meetings are weekly meetings. A multi-agency team work together to offer advice and signposting to support for children and their families, with what is happening to them.

The team attending BRIF includes Housing, 0-19 Service, Police, Adult Mental Health, Children Centres, and other key partners/agencies that can offer support and advice to families.

The only ‘criteria’ for the BRIF panel is that families are not open to statutory Children Services or are being supported by a Family Partner.

Examples of some of the things discussed at BRIF include:

• Housing issues.
  
• Parenting Issues/Behaviours at home.
  
• Non-school attendance.
  
• SEND
  
• Low level parental mental health.
  
• Young Carers support
  
• Emotional wellbeing support
  
• Accessing local resources and supplies
  
• Youth Support
  

Consent must be received from parents prior to being discussed at the meeting.

If you would like to receive advice about services and support available for you and your family from the BRIF meeting, please speak to a member of the 0-19 Health Team, a person at your child’s school/setting or call the Access and Referral Hub who will support you with accessing this support.

Professionals are invited to attend and present information on the behalf of the family at the meeting and will share the information from it with you.

Information and advice

The Social Care Worker may offer you advice and information and direct you to other services that you may find helpful.

This could include signposting you to local services that may be of assistance to you and your family.

Early Help Assessment in the Community

With your permission the Social Care Worker may speak to your child’s school to recommend that they complete an Early Help in the Community Assessment with you to support you and your family.

Early Help Plus

A Social Care Early Help Assessment is carried out with you by an Early Help Family Partner. This is also known as Early Help Plus Social Care.

The Early Help Family Partner will ask to meet with you at your home and will talk with you about your family. They will want to understand the needs of your children; and what support you have in place or what difficulties you may be facing as a family.

Early Help Family Partners can offer support by

• helping you to find local support services tailored to the needs of you and your child,
  
• helping you to navigate complexities of accessing support through education services and health services
  
• offering you parenting support and advice if needed

If you decide you’d like to access early help, the person you talked to will ask if they can share information you have given with other professionals that can offer you support. You need to give your permission for this to happen. Early Help is a voluntary Process, and we cannot support you or your family without your consent.

There may be times when the person you talked to must share information without your permission. This includes:

• if they think a child is at risk of harm
  
• if they think an adult is at risk of harm
  
• if they think the information could help prevent or detect a serious crime

If you would like to speak to a social care worker about Early Help, please contact the Access and Referral Hub on 0300 300 8585 or email cs.accessandreferral@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk