Definition
Early Help is local authority-coordinated, multi-agency support for families before issues escalate to statutory social care. It is delivered under section 10 of the Children Act 2004 and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023), and is the typical route into family support workers, parenting programmes, and youth services.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- Early Help is LA-coordinated, multi-agency support for families before issues escalate to statutory social care.
- Delivered under section 10 of the Children Act 2004 and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023).
- Voluntary: parents consent to Early Help being opened, and can withdraw consent.
- The Lead Practitioner coordinates the agencies involved and reviews the plan typically every 6–8 weeks.
- For a SEND family, often the first formal route into respite, parenting programmes, and family support, but not a substitute for SEND statutory routes.
Early Help is the LA's safety net beneath children's social care. It is voluntary (parents agree to Early Help being opened) and operates through a multi-agency assessment (the Early Help Assessment, or EHA, often using a national template). The Lead Practitioner (often a school staff member, family support worker, or health visitor) coordinates the agencies involved and reviews the plan typically every 6–8 weeks.
For a SEND family, Early Help is often the first formal route into respite, parenting programmes (Cygnet, Healthy Minds, Triple P), youth services, and parental mental health support. It is not children's social care. There is no s.17 or s.47 Children Act 1989 process, no formal assessment by a social worker, and no risk threshold engaged. Early Help is consent-based, and parents can withdraw consent.
What Early Help is good for:
- Coordinating support around a family with multiple service involvement (paediatrics + school + housing + parental mental health).
- Short-term parenting support after diagnosis.
- Connecting to local SEND parent groups and respite.
- Supporting a family through a school transition where SEND is part of the picture.
What Early Help is not:
- It is not specialist SEND assessment or provision.
- It does not deliver therapy or specialist teaching.
- It does not substitute for a SEND statutory route. If the child needs an EHC needs assessment, an open Early Help case does not affect that.
Each LA's Early Help offer differs. The Local Offer should describe it; in practice the SENDIASS or family support worker is often a better first point of contact for what Early Help in your specific LA actually looks like.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Early Help.
Family Support Worker
A practitioner working with families through early help, schools, or charities to provide practical and emotional support around parenting, routines, and accessing services.
Social Worker
A qualified professional who safeguards children and assesses family need under the Children Act 1989. Disabled children's social care teams contribute the 'care' advice for EHC needs assessments.
Local Authority(LA)
The council responsible for arranging and funding the special educational provision in a child's EHCP. The LA is the legal duty-holder, not the school.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page when a school has suggested Early Help, when CAMHS has declined a referral with "Early Help instead", or when looking for parenting and family support after a SEND diagnosis. Searches include "what is Early Help SEND", "Early Help versus social care", and "withdrawing consent from Early Help". A Beaakon advocate can advise whether Early Help fits the family's actual need, support the Early Help Assessment with the SEND lens, and identify whether a parallel SEND statutory route should run alongside.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.