Who will do an early help assessment? What information will they include?

A lead practitioner will do the assessment to work out what help is needed. They may be a:

• GP
• School nurse
• Teacher
• Health visitor
• Another practitioner.

They should work with the family to identify local services to provide the right help and to:

• Develop an early help plan
• Act as an advocate for the family
• Make sure the family can access support (‘coordinating’ the early help).

Information in a written early help assessment may include:

• Basic information about the family such as who lives in the home, who in the family and friends network may provide support
• Details of the child’s needs including any special educational needs, disabilities, caring responsibilities
• The reasons for the early help assessment
• The practitioners and services involved
• The strengths of the family (what is working well)
• The needs of the family, including what support they feel they need.

The end of the assessment report should include the early help plan.  See our FAQs on early help services and plans for more information.