Camp Hill Education Early Help process identifies the need for help for children and families as soon as problems start to emerge, or when there is a strong likelihood that problems will emerge in the future.

The Early Help process recognises that problems can arise at any point throughout childhood and adolescence. The Early Help process includes universal and Universal Plus services designed to reduce or prevent specific problems from escalating or becoming entrenched.

What does the Early Help offer mean for families?

We hope that our Early Help will provide the ‘front door’ through which parents can access additional support at any level. Camp Hill Education is committed to:

  • Supporting young people and families, offering early help to avoid escalation of issues
  • Ensuring a multi-disciplinary approach that brings a range of professional skills and expertise to bear
  • Building positive relationships with students and their families, co-ordinating the support needed from other agencies
  • Practice that empowers families and helps them to develop the capacity to resolve their own problems
  • A holistic approach that addresses children’s needs in the wider family context
  • A simple, streamlined referral and assessment processes – the ‘early help’ assessment

The intended benefits for young people and families are:

  • Enhanced life chances as a result of the well documented benefits of Early Help in preventing issues later in life
  • An all age integrated service providing continuous support across age groups and for the whole family
  • Co-ordinated support resulting in maximised opportunities and outcomes for children, young people and families
  • Information may be shared across agencies to ensure the right support is in place at the right time for families

What is early help assessment?

Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life. For this to be effective, all agencies are required to work together to:

  • Identify children and families who would benefit from support early
  • Undertake an assessment of need
  • Provide services to address those needs

All workers are responsible for using standard ways of working with families to identify the right support that can be delivered quickly to prevent things from getting worse. They have a responsibility to share information, work together and co-ordinate action plans.

This might mean when a child:

  • Is disabled and has specific additional needs
  • Has special educational needs
  • Is a young carer

For more information on the early help assessment go to: http://www.lscpbirmingham.org.uk/early-help/early-help

It is essential that your child makes a positive and consistent start to school life. To enable this to happen, regular attendance is required. If your child is experiencing difficulties with his/her attendance, it may be helpful to contact Mr Mughal.