Common use of Early Help Clause in Contracts

Early Help. Every family can go through difficult or challenging times at some point during their lives. If you are aware of a family that is experiencing problems, they may require support to help them to deal with difficult situations and make things better. Early Help services and support should be offered as soon as a problem or difficulty starts. This is to stop things from getting worse, and to make sure that the family gets the help that they need. The Early Help Assessment Tool (EHAT) is used to find out about the family so that we can understand the difficulties that they may be experiencing. The EHAT is used when a family would like support to help them with a difficulty; when a professional working with a family recognises that they may require extra support; when a family have lots of professionals working with them and services and information needs to be organised to help make things clearer for them; where the needs of the family are unknown or unmet. The EHAT is entirely consent based and the family can decide at any point that they no longer wish to engage with the process. An EHAT is confidential except where there is a risk of serious harm to a child. Early Help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years. All school staff should be prepared to identify children who may benefit from Early Help. Early Help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years. In the first instance staff should discuss early help requirements with the designated safeguarding lead. Staff may be required to support other agencies and professionals in an early help assessment. Any child may benefit from early help, but all staff should be particularly alert to the potential need for early help for a child who: • Is disabled and has certain health conditions and has specific additional needs • Has special educational needs (whether or not they have a statutory Education, Health and Care Plan) • has a mental health need • Is a young carer • Is showing signs of being drawn in to anti-social or criminal behaviour, including gang involvement and association with organised crime groups or county lines. • Is frequently missing/goes missing from care or from home • Is at risk of modern slavery, trafficking or sexual or criminal exploitation • Is at risk of being radicalised or exploited • Has a family member in prison or is affected by parental offending • Is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for the child, such as drug and alcohol misuse, adult mental health issues and domestic abuse • Is misusing drugs or alcohol themselves • Has returned home to their family from care • Is at risk of ‘honour’-based abuse such as Female Genital Mutilation or Forced Marriage • Is a privately fostered child • is persistently absent from education, including persistent absences for part of the school day See ▇▇▇▇▇▇’▇ Helping Early Strategy for more details.