What makes a good Early Help assessment?

All Local Authorities have been asked to update and refresh their outcome plans to meet the new supporting families 10 headline themes.

We are therefore making changes to our Early Help Assessment and Plan & Review in the Right for Children system and this document will be updated as part of those changes 24/03/23

The Early Help Assessment must be completed with the family.

It will help you to understand the views, needs, strengths and difficulties of the individual members and how they work together as a family.

Make sure it included the whole family – children, young people, parents and carers should all contribute to the assessment and their voices should evident throughout.

• Identify and detail the needs of all family members.
• Focus on all the family members’ strengths too.
• Empower the family to consider their own wider support network.
• Be realistic about what can and cannot be positively changed.
• Be honest and transparent.
• Make sure it is completed in a timely manner.
• All practitioners who are supporting the family when the assessment is undertaken should contribute.
• It must be completed on the Right for Children system.

Locality officers in all areas can offer advice, support and guidance. Please view their contact details using this link.

FAQs

• What is the Early Help Assessment?
  This is used by practitioners across Devon to assess the needs of the whole family and its individual members. It enables information to be gathered about a family so their needs can be fully understood and the right support can be put in place. Everyone involved completes the relevant sections of the assessment, in consultation with the family, and records it on the Right for Children system.
• How do I access the Early Help Assessment?
  The Early Help Assessment is accessed through the Right for Children system.
• What is the Right for Children system?
  It’s an IT system that enables practitioners from a range of agencies, services and teams to input and share information about the families they are working with. This is done with a family’s permission. To request access please email rightforchildren@devon.gov.uk with your full name, role, service, organisation, office address, contact telephone number and email address. Once your account has been registered, you will be sent a link to the website and a guide to how the system works. Training sessions are available if you would like some additional support. Please contact rightforchildren@devon.gov.uk for information and if you have any questions about the system.
• Do I have to log my Early Help assessment on the Right for Children system?
  Yes. If you don’t have access to the system please email rightforchildren@devon.gov.uk.
• Can I complete an Early Help assessment on my own and just share it with the family later?
  No. The Early Help assessment should always be completed with the children, young person and family.
• If I do an Early Help assessment, do I have to be lead practitioner?
  You will be the point of contact for the family until the first TAF (Team around the Family) meeting where it will be confirmed who the lead practitioner will be. If you are not in contact with the family following completion of the assessment, please contact an Early Help Locality Officer. For more information, please see our guide to being an early help lead practitioner.

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