We are committed to providing Early Help support for families where needed and Mrs Dixon is trained to complete Early Help Assessments with families and fulfil the role of Lead Professional if needed. All Early Help information is confidential and will only be shared with people who you consent too. If you would like to discuss support in any area please don’t hesitate to speak to Mrs Dixon.

What is the Early Help Assessment process?

Every family is unique, and everyone can experience problems that are difficult to deal with without help. Professionals such as teachers, health visitors or children's centre staff can help you get the right support. They can do this by discussing your problems with you and completing an Early Help Assessment (EHA).

The EHA process is a way of offering support to your family when you need it. Professionals will work together with you and your family to prevent problems from getting worse.

The EHA:

• Is a voluntary process; you and your family choose to be involved in the process and can withdraw consent at any time.
• Involves completing an assessment with you and members of your family to find out what your problems are and decide on what help is needed.
• Is a shared assessment so you won't need to repeat yourself to different professionals.
• Is an action planning process - you'll agree the next steps and actions with the professionals who are part of the process.
• Is led by a 'lead professional' who co-ordinates the Early Help support package.

You may feel your family would benefit from help from a particular service to help solve an issue. Mrs Dixon can refer to outside agencies to help you access the service and get the support you need. This can be done without completing an EHA but still allows your family to access early help support.

If you feel you would benefit from any extra help but you don’t want to contact school regarding this then please contact the Heywood Locality Team on:

Email: heywood.earlyhelplocalityteam@rochdale.gov.uk

Contact number: 01706 927500