Early Help
Early help is provided to children, young people and families who are:
Early help services aim to prevent or resolve issues before they become more serious and require specialist support. The Isle of Wight Children and Young People’s Strategic partnership recognises that the best outcomes are achieved when a combination of services work together. This is to ensure that the whole family are able to work towards better life chances of their children.
Raising a concern
Concerns about how well a child or young person is progressing may be raised by:
An Early Help Assessment (EHA) is then used to identify their needs. This helps to co-ordinate provision of services involving a lead professional and sharing information to avoid duplication of assessments. The EHA should be centred around the child/young person. EHA is a standardised shared assessment and planning framework for use across all children’s services and all local areas in England.
If you are a professional and would like to gain a better understanding of an EHA download or print off our Early Help information sheet.
Access to early help services
Many of these services are available in the community, through schools, health services and voluntary organisations. Visit the children service hub page to find out contact details of supportive services and organisations. Barnardo's are the current provider of integrated early help services for 0-19 years on the island.
Access to Supporting Families Programme
Supporting Families Programme (SFP) is the Isle of Wight’s response to the national 'Troubled Families' initiative. It is a key part of the Early Help offer of services designed to reduce or prevent specific problems from getting worse.
The programme covers the whole Island and the intensive support is delivered by the charity Barnardo's. It focuses on families who are currently experiencing complex difficulties. Discover more information about the Strengthening Families Programme.
If you are concerned about a child or you need information about children’s services, please get in touch by using the details found in the 'Contacts' tab.