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 shared on the Right for Children system.

Locality officers in all areas can offer advice, support and guidance. Their contact details are available here.

FAQs

• What is the Early Help Assessment tool?
  It’s the tool used by all 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• If I do an Early Help assessment, do I have to be Lead Practitioner?
  You will be the Lead Practitioner until the first TAF (Team around the Family) meeting where it will be confirmed who the Lead Practitioner will be.

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