What early help is, who can get it, how to get it.
What early help is
Early help is extra support that some children and families need to be healthy, safe and achieve their full potential. It's for:
- parents, children and whole families
- every stage of a child or young person's life, from before they're born up to 18, or 25 if the young person has special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
You might need extra support with:
- parenting or your child's behaviour
- your or your child's health or emotional needs
- debt, finances or the cost of living
- a crisis or bereavement
- domestic abuse
Early help services in Bristol who work together to get children and families the right support at the right time include:
- Children's Centres and Family Hubs where you can get information, peer support and one to one family support
- parenting support, such as parenting courses
- health visitors, who support with early parenting
- schools and school nurses, who can help with mental health and wellbeing and sexual health
- GPs
- youth clubs and youth and play activities
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), who support children and adolescents with their mental health
- speech and language services
- domestic abuse support
You can also get early help at voluntary and community organisations and through Bristol's SEND Local Offer.
Early help and Family Hubs
You can get early help signposting and support from any of the 3 Family Hubs in Bristol. You don't need to make an appointment, you can just drop in.
Family Hub Navigators work from Family Hubs and can provide information, advice and signposting to a range of services to support children, young people and families.
How to get early help
If you feel that you or your child needs extra support you can:
- talk to the service or professional that you feel knows you or your child best
- refer yourself or your child to a service
The professional could be:
- someone at your child's nursery or school
- a health visitor
- a youth worker
They can talk to you about your concerns and support you to access other services.
If more than one service needs to be involved, the professional might:
- work with you to make an early help plan, which will describe the support you and your family need, and what needs to happen
- arrange a Team Around the Family meeting, which is a meeting for you and the services supporting you
This helps everyone work together, share information and agree on the next steps.
If you or the professional supporting you feels you need more support, they can refer you to Families in Focus.
Early help services
Abuse and violence: information and support for victims of abuse or violence, including where to get help.
Activities for young people: list of organisations and charities that offer activities and support for young people across Bristol.
Children's Centres: locations and services for children and families from pre-birth to 5 years old.
Cost of living support: useful websites, community organisations, advice and guidance to help you through the rising cost of living.
Family Hubs: locations of and support available through Family Hubs across Bristol, including information for new parents or those expecting a baby
Your Holiday Hub Bristol: information about free school holiday activities for school aged children and young people who receive free school meals.
Housing: information for council and private tenants, as well as concerns about homelessness.
Mental health support for adults:
Mental health support for children:
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services from Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Parenting courses, advice and telephone support: free parenting courses available across Bristol.
Relationship support for parents and co-parents: online resources for relationship support for parents and co-parents.
SEND Local Offer: information and support for children and young people aged 0 to 25 with Special Educations Needs and Disability (SEND).
If you're a professional
We use Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership: Effective Support for Children and Families in Bristol to guide our understanding of how services might work together to provide early help to children, young people and their families.
Children and families you know and support in your setting or agency might ask you for extra support or signposting. If you're not sure how to support the family, email:
- familiesinfocusnorth@bristol.gov.uk or call 0117 352 1499 for families in north Bristol
- familiesinfocussouth@bristol.gov.uk or call 0117 903 7770 for families in south Bristol
- familiesinfocuseastcentral@bristol.gov.uk or call 0117 357 6460 for families in east or central Bristol
If more than one service needs to be involved with a child and family, the professional who knows the family best can do an early help plan with the family and hold a Team Around the Family meeting to share information with the agencies involved and agree the next steps.
Early help support and networking
Bristol has networking opportunities for services providing early help to children and families in each area of Bristol. Multi Agency Network meetings (MANS) happen 4 times a year in each area. For more information or to be added to the mailing list, email:
- North, East and Central Bristol Early Help Partnership Manager Laura Deakin on familiesinfocuseastcentral@bristol.gov.uk
- South Bristol Early Help Partnership Manager Caroline Donald on familiesinfocussouth@bristol.gov.uk
Early Help Partnership Managers also do regular bulletins for professionals working with children and families.