Early help means giving a child and their family support as soon as a problem emerges, so that it does not grow into a child protection concern. In England it is a statutory expectation, not an optional extra: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 sets out how councils and their partners should organise it, and Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 asks every school and college to be ready to spot children who may benefit. Early help is voluntary and needs the family’s agreement. The 2026 guidance now calls its targeted level Family Help, and it never replaces an immediate referral when a child may be at risk of significant harm.
At a glance: Nexis CPD offers a £9 CPD-accredited online Safeguarding Children (Advanced) Level 2 course — 100% online, with an instantly emailed, employer-verifiable certificate. Any three courses cost £18, and teams of 5 or more pay £6 a course place.
General information — always follow your local safeguarding partnership’s procedures. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. This guide covers England unless we say otherwise. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are summarised near the end.
What does early help mean in safeguarding?
Early help is support offered at the first sign that a child or family is struggling. Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 says all school and college staff “should be prepared to identify children who may benefit from Family Help”, meaning “support as soon as a problem emerges at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years”.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, the statutory guidance for every agency in England that works with children, says early help “is not an individual service, but a system of support delivered by local authorities and their partners”. It describes two levels:
- Universal services and community-based early help: everyday support from services families already use, such as schools, nurseries, health visitors, GPs, youth services and family hubs.
- Targeted early help: more formal support for families with multiple or complex needs, “where a plan is in place and a lead practitioner appointed”. This level is now delivered through Family Help.
Early help is not a child protection referral, an investigation or a way to delay one. Our guide to what safeguarding children means explains how safeguarding and child protection differ.
What is Family Help, and has it replaced early help?
Partly. Working Together 2026, published in March 2026, replaced the 2023 edition. Its summary of changes says “family help combines targeted early help and section 17 support to create a more seamless offer for families”. So Family Help covers targeted early help, provided under sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004, and support for a child in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. A family should keep the same lead practitioner and plan if their needs grow. KCSIE 2026, in force since 1 September 2026, uses the same terms.
Councils are introducing Family Help through the Department for Education’s Families First Partnership programme, whose non-statutory guide was updated in March 2026. The Supporting Families programme ended on 31 March 2025 after 13 years, and the government now funds preventative support through Families First. In July 2025 the government also announced that Best Start Family Hubs would roll out in every local authority by April 2026, and Working Together 2026 names them as a route into community-based early help.
Local names vary. Your council may say “early help”, “Family Help” or both, so follow its threshold document.
Is early help a legal requirement?
For organisations, it is a statutory expectation. Working Together is issued under laws including sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004, which require councils to promote co-operation to improve children’s well-being and listed bodies to have regard to the need to safeguard and promote children’s welfare. It “should be complied with unless exceptional circumstances arise”, and applies in full to early years settings, schools and colleges, which must also follow KCSIE.
For families, early help is an offer, not an obligation. They can decline it.
Which children may benefit from early help?
Any child may benefit. KCSIE 2026 says staff should be particularly alert to the potential need for additional support for a child who:
- is disabled, has certain health conditions or has special educational needs
- has a mental health need
- is a young carer, or is pregnant or a parent themselves
- has shown early signs of abusive, violent or harmful behaviours
- is showing signs of being drawn into anti-social or criminal behaviour, including gangs or county lines
- frequently goes missing from education, home or care
- has been repeatedly removed from class, suspended several times, put on a part-time timetable or is at risk of permanent exclusion
- is at risk of exploitation, modern slavery, trafficking or radicalisation
- has a parent or carer in custody, or is affected by parental offending
- lives with challenges such as drug and alcohol misuse, adult mental health issues or domestic abuse
- is misusing alcohol or drugs themselves
- is at risk of “honour” or faith-based abuse, such as female genital mutilation or forced marriage
- is privately fostered
Working Together 2026 adds unborn babies, bereaved children, children viewing problematic content or forming inappropriate relationships online, and children who have returned home from care. These lists prompt professional curiosity; they do not mean every child described needs a formal plan.
What are the signs a family may need early help?
Use this checklist as a prompt to talk to your designated safeguarding lead (DSL), not as a diagnosis:
- Attendance: rising absence, regular lateness or late collection.
- Behaviour and mood: a child who has become withdrawn, anxious or angry, or whose progress has dropped.
- Basic care: a child often hungry, tired or unkempt.
- A struggling parent: worries about their mental health, money, housing or a child’s additional needs.
- Home pressures: frequent parental conflict, a domestic abuse notification, or drug or alcohol misuse.
- Caring and loss: a child caring for a relative, bereaved, or with a parent in prison.
- Outside the home: new older friends, unexplained money or gifts, or going missing.
- Health: missed appointments or developmental checks.
Several small signs together usually matter more than one. Weighing them and choosing the right level of help is the focus of our Safeguarding Children (Advanced) Level 2 course, which covers thresholds, early help, information sharing and referrals. The abuse categories behind more serious signs are in our guide to the types of child abuse.
Is early help voluntary, and does the family have to consent?
Yes, to the support itself. Working Together 2026 says “Family Help is a voluntary approach, requiring the family’s consent to receive support and services”, and assessments should be done “with the agreement of the child and their parents or carers”. If a family says no, practitioners should:
- find out why and reassure them
- explain that support is consensual and what is available
- consider meeting the child’s needs through universal services the family already uses
- still tell them their information will be recorded and shared, and why
- keep the door open, because refusing once is no barrier to help later
The limit is clear: “If there are concerns that the child has suffered significant harm or is likely to do so, a referral should be made immediately to local authority children’s social care.”
Agreeing to support is also separate from consent to share information. Statutory guidance on the new information sharing duty says information “can still be shared where a threshold for service intervention has not been met, and where families have not agreed to the provision of particular services”.
Who provides early help?
Almost everyone who works with children. Working Together gives GPs, health visitors and school nurses as examples of universal services, and says community-based early help can come through Best Start Family Hubs, youth services, youth offending teams, after-school clubs and housing. Targeted early help includes parenting support, mental health support, domestic abuse services, and housing and employment services. Schools, colleges and early years settings are “uniquely placed to identify concerns and, with partners as appropriate, address them early”. Nurseries can check our guide to early years training requirements.
Targeted support is coordinated by a lead practitioner. Working Together 2026 says the role “can be held by a range of people”, including social workers, council staff such as those in a Best Start Family Hub, and staff in partner organisations. KCSIE adds that school staff may sometimes take it on. A practitioner who starts with a family at the targeted early help stage can keep leading if the child is later assessed as a child in need.
What happens in an early help assessment?
There is no single national form. Working Together asks each area to have “a single Family Help assessment” that can be adapted, and councils use their own forms and names; KCSIE calls it a “community-based Early Help assessment”. The process usually runs like this:
- A conversation with the family about their worries, and their agreement to go ahead.
- A whole-family assessment that includes the child’s wishes and feelings, builds on strengths and looks at underlying issues such as housing, money or health.
- A team around the family: the practitioners involved meet regularly with the family.
- A plan designed with the child and family, coordinated by the lead practitioner.
- Regular review, stepping down to universal services when needs are met, or up if things get worse.
Families “should not need to repeat their story”, so the assessment should form the basis of any later assessment under sections 17 or 47 of the Children Act 1989.
What are thresholds of need?
A threshold document is the local rulebook for which level of help a child needs. Working Together 2026 says safeguarding partners “should publish a threshold document, which sets out the local criteria for action”. It covers access to community-based early help, when to refer to Family Help, and when to refer to children’s social care for child protection enquiries under section 47, care proceedings under section 31 or accommodation under section 20 of the Children Act 1989.
There is no national numbered scale; each area sets its own levels of need, and the Families First Partnership guide asks areas to show a single Family Help category. KCSIE expects DSLs to know the local document, usually published on your local safeguarding children partnership’s website.
What is the difference between early help, child in need and child protection?
The main levels in England under the 2026 guidance:
| Targeted early help (Family Help) | Child in need (Family Help) | Child protection | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Sections 10 and 11, Children Act 2004 | Section 17, Children Act 1989 | Section 47, Children Act 1989 |
| Who it is for | Families with multiple or complex needs, where statutory support is not required | A child unlikely to reach or keep a satisfactory level of health or development without services, or who is disabled | Reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm |
| Family consent | Needed: voluntary | Needed: Family Help is voluntary | Not needed: the council must make enquiries |
| Who leads | A lead practitioner from the council or a partner organisation | A lead practitioner, not necessarily a social worker | A social worker, or a social work manager leads enquiries if the lead practitioner is not one |
| Plan | Family Help plan | Family Help plan or child in need plan | Child protection plan, if an initial child protection conference decides one is needed |
Community-based early help sits below all three and needs no formal plan.
When should early help become a referral to children’s social care?
Immediately, if a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Working Together says anyone with concerns should refer “immediately if there is a concern that the child is suffering significant harm or is likely to do so”. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
Do not wait for an assessment: “A Family Help assessment is not a prerequisite for a referral”. KCSIE also asks schools to keep early help cases “under constant review” and consider a referral “if the child’s situation does not appear to be improving or is getting worse”.
Children’s social care should acknowledge a referral within one working day, decide the next steps and tell the referrer the outcome. If you are not satisfied, use your local escalation procedure.
If a child tells you they are being harmed, our guide to adverse childhood experiences covers how to respond. Outside a setting with a DSL, GOV.UK’s report child abuse to your local council tool finds the right contact.
What does the designated safeguarding lead do in early help?
In a school or college, staff with a concern speak to the DSL or a deputy. KCSIE 2026 says the options then include managing support internally through pastoral processes, “undertaking a Family Help assessment”, or referring to statutory services. Where a child does not need statutory services, the DSL “will generally lead the liaison with other agencies and setting up an inter-agency assessment as appropriate”.
KCSIE says DSL training, updated at least every two years, should help DSLs “understand the assessment process for providing family help and statutory intervention, including local criteria for action”. Our guide to the designated safeguarding lead covers the rest of the role, and our Designated Safeguarding Lead (Children) course covers early help and thresholds in depth.
How should information be shared for early help?
Since 30 September 2026, England has had a statutory duty to share information under section 16LA of the Children Act 2004, inserted by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. It covers bodies such as councils, integrated care boards, NHS trusts and the police, designated childcare and education agencies, and providers working for them, including GPs. If one holds information it considers relevant to a child’s safety or welfare, it must share it with another such body where that may help its safeguarding work, unless sharing would be more detrimental to the child than not sharing.
The statutory guidance on the duty says there is “no requirement for a child to meet a particular statutory threshold before information can be shared”, including “where concerns relate to early help, prevention and unmet need”. Its worked example has a school sharing welfare information with a Family Hub without parental consent, while being open with the family.
- Consent is not required to share. The guidance says seeking it from a suspected perpetrator could increase the risk of harm.
- Be transparent where it is safe about what you share, with whom and why.
- Share only what is needed, through local agreed pathways, and mark opinions as opinions.
- Ask your DSL if unsure. KCSIE says fears about sharing “must not be allowed to stand in the way” of safeguarding.
What should you record about early help?
KCSIE 2026 says “all concerns, discussions and decisions made, and the reasons for those decisions, should be recorded in writing”, kept confidential and stored securely. A good early help record notes:
- what you saw or heard, when, in the child’s own words where they spoke
- who you told, and the family’s views and agreement
- what was shared, with whom and why
- the plan, lead practitioner, review date and outcome
How does early help work in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Scotland. Early support is built into Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC). It uses eight wellbeing indicators, known as SHANARRI, and a National Practice Model. Families have a clear point of contact, sometimes called a named person, and extra support is set out in a child’s plan coordinated by a lead professional. Child protection follows the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 (updated 2023).
Wales. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 underpins support. Programmes such as Flying Start and Families First provide early support, and an all-Wales Early Intervention and Prevention Framework, published on 18 March 2026, gives them one overarching definition. Practitioners follow the Wales Safeguarding Procedures, and section 130 of the 2014 Act requires a council’s relevant partners to report a child at risk.
Northern Ireland. Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland covers early intervention and family support, including local Family Support Hubs. Children in need are defined under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and assessed with the UNOCINI framework and its threshold of needs model; child protection investigations take place under Article 66.
Which courses cover early help, thresholds and referrals?
Three Nexis CPD courses match this guide. Safeguarding Children (Advanced) Level 2 covers recognising abuse and neglect, responding to a disclosure, applying thresholds and early help, sharing information, referring to children’s social care and recording concerns. Designated Safeguarding Lead (Children) is for people who hold, or are preparing for, the DSL or deputy role, and covers early help and thresholds, working with children’s social care and allegations against staff. Safeguarding Children Level 1 is an introduction for anyone new to working with children. Together they cost £18, because any three courses trigger the pay-for-2-get-3 offer.
These are awareness-level CPD courses. They do not make anyone a designated safeguarding lead or replace the training your local safeguarding children partnership or employer requires. Our guide to safeguarding training requirements explains which level suits which role.
£9 per course. CPD accredited, 100% online, verifiable e-certificate. Pay for 2, get 3 — any 3 courses for £18. Start with Safeguarding Children (Advanced) Level 2.
Training a team? From 5 staff, Nexis CPD course places cost £6 each. You pay once by card, then get your own portal to add staff, choose their courses and track who has finished. Fewer than five staff? Every course is £9, with any three for £18. See team pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is early help in safeguarding?
Early help is support for a child and family as soon as a problem emerges, before it becomes a child protection concern. In England it ranges from community-based early help through universal services to targeted early help, which is now part of Family Help, with a lead practitioner and a plan.
What is the difference between early help and Family Help?
Family Help is the 2026 term for a combined offer of targeted early help and section 17 child in need support, with one lead practitioner and one plan. Community-based early help from schools, health visitors, family hubs and other universal services remains a lighter level beneath it.
Do parents have to agree to early help?
Yes. Working Together 2026 says Family Help is voluntary and requires the family’s consent. If there are concerns that a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm, a referral to children’s social care should be made immediately, with or without agreement.
Can I share information about a family without their consent?
Yes, where it is relevant to a child’s safety or welfare. Consent is not required to share information, and since 30 September 2026 a statutory duty requires many organisations in England to share relevant information, including about early help needs. Be open with the family where it is safe, and ask your DSL if unsure.
Who can be the lead practitioner in early help?
A range of practitioners, including social workers, council staff such as those in a Best Start Family Hub, and staff in partner organisations. KCSIE says school staff may sometimes take the role.
When should early help become a child protection referral?
Immediately, if there is a concern that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. You do not need to finish an early help assessment first. Also consider a referral if the child’s situation is not improving or is getting worse. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
This article is general information about early help in England, with a summary for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, not legal advice. It reflects Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, the information sharing duty guidance and the Families First Partnership guide as we found them on 20 October 2026. Always follow your local safeguarding partnership’s procedures. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Nexis CPD courses are CPD-accredited awareness training, not regulated qualifications.