What is Early Help?
Early Help is the process and means by which the needs of children and their families for support are identified and addressed as soon as they emerge, so that children’s development is maintained and harm prevented, as part of ‘early’, targeted and sometimes intensive work with the wider family. This can occur at different points in the child’s life, including pre-birth, and may be repeated for different reasons, as the child develops.
The consequences of not addressing needs in this way are that the issues may become more entrenched, complex, and acute and can become overlaid by additional needs and problems, not just for the individual child, but for the wider family, thus requiring greater help and support from more agencies as time progresses and creating more severe and intractable problems. Early Help can avoid these escalations and support/enable the child and the family to resolve their own issues and build resilience for the future. By effective use and deployment of Early Help, will lead to the following outcomes:

* Healthy, happy, and resilient children living in families
* Families (especially parents/carers, but also young people) take responsibility for their wellbeing
* Children and young people able to attend, learn and maximise their potential in early years’ settings, at school, or in other educational settings
* Young people are ready for and able to contribute to adult life
* Children and young people protected from significant harm
(Right Help, Right Time document December 2021)

Early Help responsibilities at Plantsbrook school
Plantsbrook school takes responsibility for providing Universal support for all students. This area of support and intervention forms part of our already robust pastoral care system and safeguarding procedures. The welfare of our young people is our absolute priority, and we strive to provide a bespoke package of support when they face difficulties that may hamper their academic achievement and personal development.
To deliver the Early Help Offer, we have established a Safeguarding and Welfare Team. Plantsbrook school has put in place arrangements to ensure that all students are entitled to be considered for, assessed, and supported via the provision of Early Help Services:

* Identify children and their families who would benefit from Early Help using the BSCB thresholds.
* Undertake an assessment of the need for Early Help using the BSCB approved Early Help Assessment where appropriate.
* Ensure provision of targeted Early Help services to address the assessed needs of a child and the family which focuses on activity to significantly improve the outcomes for the child
* Share information on that provision that is consistent with the child’s welfare and with due regard to confidentiality.
* Practitioners working in universal services have a responsibility to identify the symptoms and triggers of abuse and neglect, share that information, and work together to provide children and young people with the help they need.
* Practitioners will continue to develop their knowledge and skills in this area and will have access to training.

We will continue to use the statutory guidance and the Threshold Guidance issued by the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board in all of our work towards meeting the responsibilities outlined above.
Right Help, Right Time BSCB Threshold document December 2021

 https://www.lscpbirmingham.org.uk/images/BSCP/Professionals/RHRT_December_2021/Right_Help_Right_Time_Guidance_Dec_2021_002.pdf