Introduction
Sometimes a child or young person needs extra support. We want to help as early as possible, before small problems become bigger. Getting the right help at the right time can make a big difference.
An Early Help Assessment (EHA) helps people understand what support a child, young person and family may need. With your agreement, the information can be shared with services working with your family. This helps everyone work together and provide the right support.
The assessment looks at what is going well and where extra help may be needed. If the support already in place is not enough, it can help families get help from other services.
What happens next
After talking with you and your child, the person completing the assessment will make an action plan with you. The plan will set out what support is needed and who can help.
Sometimes support can start straight away. In other cases, the practitioner may need to gather more information before contacting you again.
If several services need to work together, a Team Around the Child meeting may be arranged. This brings together the people who can support your child and family.
Older children and young people may choose to speak to the practitioner on their own. In some situations, information may be kept private from parents if this is in the young person’s best interests.
Your information
You will receive a copy of the Early Help Assessment. We will explain who can see it, where it is stored and how it will be used.
Usually, only people who need the information to support your child will have access to it.
We hope you will choose to take part in the Early Help Assessment, so your family can get the support it needs.
You can ask for the assessment process to stop at any time. However, this may make it harder to access some types of support.
Further guidance
You can find more information about Early Help Assessments and related documents on the Professional Choices website