Giving you and your family the right support at the right time

Early Help is a way of giving you the support you need, as quickly as we can when you say you need some help with your children or your family. Early Help Services will try and work with you to find solutions to small problems before they become big ones.

Early Help can include support for a family in the earliest years of your child’s life or at any stage later in their lives.

You can ask for Early Help from any service working with you, your child or your family or it may be that someone for example, a health visitor, social worker, teacher or someone from a voluntary agency may suggest Early Help support for you.

If you need more support than you feel the services above can offer, you can visit www.bradford.gov.uk/earlyhelp

Use our Early Help postcode checker to find support in your area, or call the Early Help Gateway on 01274 432121 during office hours.

The Early Help Gateway staff will ask you to be as clear as you can about:

• Whatitisyouareworriedabout?

• Whatisgoingwellforyourfamilyandwho alreadyhelpsyou?

• Whatneedstohappentosupportyouandyourfamily?

The Early Help Gateway will provide confidential advice and guidance and, if needed will link you through to groups and services near to your family.

What is Early Help?

Early Help Gateway

Early Help

If you think a child is at risk of harm call Children’s Social Care on 01274 437500 during office hours. At other times, call the Emergency Duty Team on 01274 431010.

If you think a child is at immediate risk of harm call 999 and talk to the Police.

For medical emergencies, when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, call 999.

Information about

Updated October 2017

The wording in this publication can be made available in other formats such as large print or Braille. Please call 01274 432121

If you think a child needs urgent help

If you need help to access universal services such as free childcare places, parenting classes, information about schools, colleges, health services, benefits advice, you can contact the Families Information Service.

Call our helpline on 01274 437503 for free and confidential advice, or Text ‘FIS’ to 07781472076 and we will call you back.

Visit our Families Information Service pages www.bradford.gov.uk/fis

Or visit our Local Offer website for services available to children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities https://localoffer.bradford.gov.uk/

Families Information ServiceSometimes Early Help can be as simple as pointing

you in the right direction to services that can help you. At other times you and your family may need more targeted support and an early help plan.

Early Help can involve other people working together with you to support you and your family. This may be your GP, health visitor, school, college, children’s centre, school nurse, youth service, child care or other community setting.

If your family receives Early Help we will make an Early Help plan with you, your family and other important people in your life to make sure everyone knows what you need them to do until the support isnolongerneeded.Wecallthisthe‘Think Family’ approach.

What services will it involve?

What Happens?

You can ask someone working with your family about the support you can receive under Early Help or you can contact the following services depending on what you need.

How can I find out more?