Early Help (Early Support)
UPDATE: HARROW FAMILY HUBS NETWORK IS LAUNCHING – 3 FEBRUARY 2025
Over the past two years, agencies and organisations have been working across Harrow to establish what is now known as the Family Hubs Network. Local partners and professionals have collaborated to develop joint programmes as part of the new network.
The Family Hubs Network provides educational, health, council services and voluntary community sector (VCS) partners with a new way to signpost and support families, ensuring they receive the right support, at the right place, and at the right time.
Harrow Safeguarding Children Partnership & Harrow Borough-Based Partnership are delighted to announce that the Family Hubs Network is now launching on Monday, 3 February 2025.
A dedicated launch event will take place at East Family Hub at Kenmore Children’s Centre. This event will feature special guests including the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services and leaders of key health, education and voluntary and community organisations in Harrow. More information about this event can be found here.
A series of activities are planned across various Early Help locations in Harrow – for more information about different activities for children and families across East, Central and West Family Hub sites, please see here.
Please email lscb@harrow.gov.uk if you would like to attend the dedicated launch event at the East Family Hub.
TEAM AROUND THE FAMILY HAS LAUNCHED IN HARROW – 9 DECEMBER 2024
On 9 December 2024, partner agencies gathered for the formal launch of the Team Around the Family (TAF) approach as part of providing Early Help in Harrow. The launch was announced by London Borough of Harrow Councillor Hitesh Karia, Portfolio Holder – Children’s Services, with additional remarks and support from leaders and practitioners from Harrow Council, NHS North West London Integrated Care Board, Harrow Education Services, Young Harrow Foundation, Harrow Public Health Service, Welldon Park Academy and from a wide range of community and voluntary organisations in attendance.
The Team Around the Family approach enables professionals working in Harrow to bring supportive networks of other professionals together in partnership with families to provide the early help at the right place at the right time to create positive outcomes for children. Anchored by a Lead Professional, the Team Around the Family comes together with the consent of parents to consider and agree how agencies in Harrow can provide any early assistance needed to create positive outcomes for children and families.
Key TAF papers including TAF Plan, Family Agreement and general TAF Guidance can be found within the Harrow TAF Booklet, which is distributed directly to all professionals undertaking the HSCP’s TAF Training.
A copy of the Harrow TAF Booklet can also be found here.
Early Help
Early Help is support for children of all ages that improves a family’s resilience and outcomes or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse. It is not an individual service, but a system of support delivered by all partner agencies working together and taking collective responsibility to provide the right help in their area.
Research shows that prevention, early help and joint working with multi-agency partners can significantly reduce the need for statutory intervention later on in children’s lives and can significantly reduce harm to children.
Early Help delivers services and activities for parents, carers, pregnant women and young people aged 0-19 (or up to 25 with Special Educational Needs/disability).
It is a non-statutory service area that supports children, young people and families to improve their outcomes and reach their goals and aspirations. It does this through positive engagements, sustaining their power, finding out more about the strengths children and families have, exploring needs and helping children and families to identify the things that they would want to change in order to help children grow and develop.
Early Support Hubs in Harrow
Early Support Hubs are community based sites which incorporate the 9 Childrens Centre sites and 3 Youth Centres. These Hubs are the point of contact for Early Support. They provide information, advice and guidance, and access to Early Support evidence-based provision delivered by the councils skilled staff and partner agencies.
For further information see here.
To contact any of the Early Support Hubs see here.