Torbay Partnership Early Help Strategy 2021/2025

What is Early Help and how are we delivering it in Torbay?

Early Help is not a specific service or team it’s an approach to working that brings together professionals from a range of different services who will work with the whole family to help improve things for everyone.

We believe that children and families need to be heard when they first ask for help to minimise the risk of problems getting worse and help them address them at the earliest opportunity. Engaging a family in Early Help is also a voluntary process and consent from children, young people, and their families to work with them should always be sought. Without this, it is unlikely that they will engage in the support that we can offer them.

Early Help can be provided through a single agency or multi agency response as appropriate to the needs of the child and family and the concern.

Our principles for Early Help are based on the principles of the legislation as described in Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2023: 

“Early help is support for children of all ages that improves a family’s resilience and outcomes or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse. It is not an individual service, but a system of support delivered by local authorities and their partners working together and taking collective responsibility to provide the right provision in their area. [...] Early help may be appropriate for children and families who have several needs, or whose circumstances might make them more vulnerable. It is a voluntary approach, requiring the family’s consent to receive support and services offered.”

Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2023, Chapter 3

In practice, this means:

• Always working WITH the child, young person, and family, and not “doing to”
• Working in a relational and strengths-based way
• Considering the whole family as part of the analysis of need and the solutions to that need
• Identifying and addressing the problem at the earliest opportunity
• Early Help being “everyone’s business”, promoting accountability, evaluation, and sustainability across the partnership

In delivering Early Help, we are very clear that where there is a safeguarding concern, the Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership’s safeguarding procedures must be followed.

Key Documents

Key documents are currently being reviewed in line with the Early Help strategy revision 2025.

Early Help Assessment

Please find attached the relevant and up to date documents in respect of Early Help Assessment. We would strongly advise that you attend the training on this to be sure that you are confident in using these. Please refer to the training section on this site for more details.

  Early Help Assessment Guidance August 21

  Early Help Plan 2025

  How to write a SMART Plan – Guidance January 2025

  Early Help Practitioner Model Guide Jan 2025

  Torbay Early Help Referral Pathway January 2025

Children, Young People and Families Portal

Torbay Family Hubs

Reducing Parental Conflict

The Reducing Parental Conflict Programme has been introduced nationally through a DWP Change programme. It is to support families experiencing parental conflict. The focus is on supporting parents and carers. This is regardless of whether they are in a relationship or separated.

Upcoming Training

Please click on the following links to see the current training opportunities:

• Early Help Training
• Restorative Practice Awareness
• Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership Training

This training is for professionals and organisations, if you don’t have access you can request an i-learn account below.

  Apply for i-Learn Account