What is the early help offer? | Shropshire Council

Early help is a team effort, not just one service. All agencies that work with children, young people and families are a part of the early help offer, and are responsible for listening to their concerns and worries, and responding to meet their needs. Early help partners will work closely with families to make sure they get the right support at the right time.

Families may need help with one or a range of things. The Circle of Support can give you an idea of how early help could help a family.

Our wider early help offer encompasses a range of service aimed to support families in Shropshire. Some services may offer a wide range of support, but others have a very specific focus. Shropshire Council has a range of teams who may be able to help you, but please check out the other sections too.

Getting a good education

Autism West Widlands
Spectra autism inclusion service
SEND local offer
SENDCo – SENCo stands for special educational needs and disability coordinator. You may hear the name referred to in full, as its acronym (sometimes also written as SENCo, standing for special educational needs coordinator), or as SEN coordinator. SENDCos are members of teaching staff who are responsible for special educational needs within a school. Every school in the UK is required to have a SENDCo to ensure that every child who has SEN is supported, as well as to help them reach their full educational potential
Learning mentors - work in schools and support children of all ages with a range issues which may include poor attendance, lack of self-esteem, behaviour or emotional difficulties and personal issues
Pastoral care – pastoral care in schools refers to the people, practices and policies that schools have in place to support the social and emotional welfare of students. It involves guidance and support provided by teachers and staff to help students deal with personal issues, develop self-esteem, and promote positive relationships within the school community
PACC supports and empowers Shropshire parents and carers of children with a disability or additional need, to enable them to be actively involved in the design and delivery of the services that they use, through the sharing of their experience and knowledge of their family's needs

Good early years development

Health visitors - health visitors are qualified nurses who have undertaken further training in all areas of child health and development, and are skilled practitioners in public health. Find out more from the NHS health visiting service pages.
Midwifery

Early years provision - there are several options when you want to choose childcare. To help you to choose the type of childcare that will suit you and your child, please visit our early years pages

Primary schools - many of our primary schools offer or have links with early years provision, and all primary schools follow the early years foundation stage in their reception classes. To find a primary school take a look at our school admissions pages.

Speech and language - speech and language therapy services can give you advice on how to support children and young people's speech, language and communication, or their eating, drinking and swallowing. The Speech and Language Therapy Advice Line is available to parents and carers of children currently on our caseloads, those referred and those not known to the service, on 01743 450800 (option 4)

Improved mental and physical health

Mental health

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) work with the whole school community. Their aim is early intervention and prevention, working in partnership with schools and other agencies to recognise and address common mental health problems. The team is made up of mental health practitioners who are trained in evidence-based interventions and supervised by specialist staff
BeeU provides emotional wellbeing and mental health services for children and young people (ages 0 to 25) in Shropshire. They also provide neurodevelopmental assessments for children with autism (ages 5 to 18) and ADHD (ages 6 to 18)
Kooth is a web-based confidential support service, providing a safe and secure means of accessing mental health and wellbeing support designed specifically for young people, which offers them the opportunity to have a text-based conversation with a qualified counsellor
Young Minds is a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, making sure all young people can get the mental health support they need
Papyrus – a charity for the prevention of young suicide
GPs (general practitioners) - if you or your child has an illness or injury that won’t go away, make an appointment at your local GP practice or telephone them for advice. GP practices provide a range of services by appointment. When absolutely essential they can also make home visits. You can search using your postcode for your local GP surgery on the NHS Choices website

Physical health

Speech and language therapy services can give you advice on how to support children and young people's speech, language and communication, or their eating, drinking and swallowing. The Speech and Language Therapy Advice Line is available to parents and carers of children currently on our caseloads, those referred and those not known to the service, on 01743 450800 (option 4)
Paediatricians – community children's doctors with specialist skills and knowledge in child development and related health issues
School nurses - offer a service to promote and support the health and wellbeing of all school-aged children from 5 to 19 years old. They work with children, young people, parents, carers and professionals to help keep children healthy throughout their school years, in order for them to reach their full potential and make informed, healthy lifestyle choices
Children’s physiotherapy services - community physiotherapy team that provides physiotherapy assessment, advice, treatment and rehabilitation to enable the children and young people with physical difficulties to reach their full potential by maximising function and independence
Children's occupational therapy - occupational therapists provide advice and intervention where needed, for children who have functional difficulties with self-care, classroom activities and leisure. Their website and Facebook page have lots of advice about how to support children and young people to participate in everyday activities at home and at school. Families and professionals can contact the service, to ask for advice or find out more by calling 01743 450800

Promoting recovery and reducing harm from substance use

With You – With You offer support to both adults and young people who are worried about drug or alcohol use. We can help people stop or cut down on what they're using and help with other problems too. You don’t have to pay for any of these services and they won’t tell anyone about anything you tell them without your permission. You can complete the online referral form for yourself or someone else.
Shropshire's TREES (Together Reducing & Ending Exploitation in Shropshire) Team are based in Children's Services. We're committed to identifying young people who are at risk of exploitation, and supporting professionals and families to reduce these risks.

Improved family relationships

The Parenting Team offers a variety of free services to parent carers, including online courses, workshops and a helpline for parents. Call them on 01743 250950
Family Relationships - worried about your relationship or feel you’re arguing too much? Not all arguing between parents is harmful but when it’s intense or happens a lot of the time, there can be a negative impact on the children
Parental Education Growth Support (PEGS) - PEGS is a social enterprise set up to support parents, carers and guardians who are experiencing child to parent abuse (including those with adult offspring)

Keeping children safe

NSPCC

Crime prevention and tackling crime

BRANCH – non-criminal justice advocacy, psychosocial education, and practical support for any young person at risk of/who has experienced CSE

Purple Leaf – education and information designed to increase young people’s awareness of sexual abuse and exploitation, know how to identify uncomfortable feelings and where to go for help and support

Axis Counselling - at Axis we understand how difficult it is for survivors to make that difficult and courageous decision to seek help. Axis works with adults and children. With appropriate help you will overcome your traumatic past/present

Safe from domestic abuse

Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service - SDAS exists to provide an outreach and a child/young person's service to support adults and their children whose lives are affected by domestic abuse, to empower them to make decisions for themselves about their own futures
Resolve@ is an emotional health and wellbeing service for young people aged 8 - 18 across Shropshire. The team is made up of experienced wellbeing practitioners who work in a person-centred way to work with young people who have experienced domestic violence or abuse
Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) is a confidential meeting between representatives from different organisations in Shropshire to discuss the safety, health and wellbeing of people who are at significant risk of serious harm or homicide because of domestic abuse
West Mercia Women's Aid
Refuge
Respect

Secure housing

Housing options - offer support and help whether you're homeless or worried about becoming homeless, by giving advice based on your circumstances
Sustain Housing Support Services - Sustain is a consortium of providers delivering consistent housing support services across Shropshire for vulnerable people of any age, including people with physical disabilities and young people

Financial stability

Welfare Reform and Support Team - may be able to help if you’re struggling to meet some of your essential living costs
Shropshire Larder - a collection of help available from national and Shropshire charities or organisations, who have a comprehensive list of the food banks operating in Shropshire at the moment
Christians Against Poverty - may be able to help you with debt, finding a job, managing your money or gaining vital life skills
Citizens Advice Shropshire - provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone and campaign to improve the policies that affect people’s lives
Job Centre Plus

General links

Early Help Front Door Service E-HAST - a single point of contact for partner agencies, children, young people and their families, focused on making sure that the right support is put in place as soon as it is needed