Targeted Early Help - professionals

What is Targeted Early Help?

There are times when the challenges of family life become complex, and some families may need some bespoke support for a period of time. Targeted Early Help focuses on the specific needs of the family to help them to make positive changes.

Targeted Early Help means that children, young people, and families receive the right help as soon as a problem emerges.

It is an activity that can be undertaken by anyone who is working with families. It relies upon local services (such as schools, health, Police and voluntary organisations) working together to identify and support families who would benefit from extra help.

Sometimes extra support is needed by families. Families can ask for support in finding and getting that help from any practitioner they are involved with. This could be a Health Visitor, GP, school, or voluntary organisation.

Before a professional can complete a Targeted Early Help Assessment, families must have agreed that they would welcome additional support and given consent to share their information.

Targeted Early Help Assessment (EHA)

Training in the Targeted Early Help Assessment process is delivered monthly. It is a full day training that will cover information sharing and the Targeted Early Help process including completing the EHA and plans, the Lead Professional Role, chairing Team Around the Family meetings.

If you are a professional and you are thinking of completing an Targeted Early Help Assessment, you should contact Children’s Services by completing online the interagency referral form (IARF)

Each Local Safeguarding Childrens Partnership (LSCP) has produced a document setting out the Thresholds for Children's Social Care intervention. The term 'threshold' refers to the point at which the local authority's Children's Social Care are likely to accept a referral for a child, young person or their family.

If you have any queries regarding an existing assessment, you can contact the Early Help team.

Please call 01983 823171 or email the team on earlyhelp@iow.gov.uk