Family Information Service

What is early help

Early help describes services that help families when they find difficulties emerging. A goal of early help is for families to be able to access the right help at the right time. Early help is about families getting help when they start having problems so that things don't get worse.

Early help services in Buckinghamshire

In Buckinghamshire, many different organisations offer early help services. These include:

  • health teams
  • community groups
  • charities
  • the Council.

They provide information and advice to children, young people, and parents to help solve specific problems. This support can be:

  • online
  • over the phone
  • in groups
  • one-on-one.

Continuum of need

Professionals, volunteers, and others working with families in Buckinghamshire use the Continuum of Need guidance to assess how much help a family needs. This guides them to decide what type of support the family should get.

Early help support

Examples of early help support include:

  • groups for people with similar experiences
  • advice and guidance drop-in sessions
  • specialist services
  • online information
  • one-to-one support from a family worker
  • youth mentoring
  • open-access activity groups

To find a specific early help service or search by theme use our online directory.

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