Local Keywords

The Early Help Assessment is an inter-agency assessment. It offers a basis for early identification of children's additional needs, the sharing of this information between organisations and the coordination of service provision. Early help assessments should identify what help the child and family require to prevent needs escalating to a point where intervention would be needed via a statutory assessment under the Children Act 1989.                                      

The findings from the Early Help Assessment may give rise to concerns about the child's safety and welfare. In these circumstances, it should be used to support a Referral to Children's Social Care: however undertaking an Early Help Assessment is not a pre-requisite for making a referral.

Where a multi-agency response is required, the team around the family (TAF) brings together practitioners from across different services that work together to co-ordinate and deliver an integrated package of support to meet the needs identified during the early help assessment process. Working with the family, they will agree an action plan to describe the outcomes agreed and support to be provided or actions taken, by whom and within what timescale.

The assessment and TAF action plan are regularly reviewed by the TAF to monitor the progress towards the agreed outcomes. The review identifies any unmet or additional needs for the child or young person and should ensure a smooth transition between universal, targeted and specialist services. Reviews should usually take place at 6 weekly intervals but may be more or less frequent depending on needs.