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Early Help Assessment Guidance and Process

Early Help Assessment Guidance and Process

Community Early Help Assessment and Closure submission portal.

Early Help forms to download

The Early Help Process

Step 1: Identification and decision on what response is needed

  • practitioner observes or is informed that the child or family has a need
  • practitioner may need to speak with their line manager, safeguarding lead, Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) to help identify the way forward
  • if the needs can be met by practitioner’s own setting's Early Help Offer, organise the support directly
  • for additional Early Help resources visit the Early Help web pages on our professional guidance page 
  • consider the parental relationship – could ´óÐãÊÓƵ’s Harmony at Home planning tool and resources be used? 

Step 2: Completing an Early Help Assessment

  • discuss needs with the child/young person and family and gain their consent to have conversations with other practitioners involved
  • identify other agencies currently involved and consider a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting to inform the assessment
  • practitioner completes an Early Help Assessment to identify the strengths and needs of the family
  • assessment can be recorded on the Early Help Assessment document
  • practitioners own agency assessment and plan can also be used
  • the assessment and plan must clearly identify the worries and strengths of the family
  • the action plan that has been agreed with the family must be clearly recorded with roles and responsibilities
  • Our Early Help Assessment or the agency's own assessment and plan can be submitted via the

Step 3: Create a plan

  • using the assessment, create a support plan along with the child/young person and their family
  • Identify SMART actions to achieve the outcomes or goals, for example, attending a parenting course
  • involve other agencies if additional needs are identified as part of the assessment
  • if more than one agency is involved, agree who the lead professional will be (this may not be the person who wrote the assessment)
  • set a date to review the plan
  • share the plan with the practitioners who attended the Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting as well as the child/young person and family

Step 4: Meet the needs in the plan

  • everyone has a responsibility to carry out their agreed actions from the plan
  • conversations can take place between meetings as required to progress the plan

Step 5: Review progress

  • Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting (or telephone call) every 6-12 weeks to review the plan
    • this might be a conversation between a single agency and the child/young person or family
  • the review is led by the lead professional
  • the lead professional and other agencies involved review whether there has been:
    • 1) positive change 
    • 2) no change/improvement
    • 3) deterioration or concerns increased
  • the decision is made to continue to amend the plan or to end the plan as the needs are fully met
    • or to end the plan and a single agency will meet the need or that only universal services are required
  • if the plan continues, further reviews take place
  • if the plan is not progressing, review and update the assessment, develop a new plan
    • consider who else may need to be involved
  • the review can be brought forward if the plan is not progressing, or the needs escalate

Step 6: End of the plan

  • when the child/young person, family and the Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting agree that the needs have been met
    • the plan will end and all those involved should be informed
  • complete closing summary and submit to the Early Help Assessment Portal
  • submit the closing summary to the , retain copies for your own records
  • the child/young person and family have clear information about where they can access support moving forward 

Related content

Early Help FAQs and guidance

Early Help offer

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