Early Help

Find out more about Early Help

All families go through trying times at some point. Early Help staff will work with you at these times so that small problems don’t get bigger. We work with children, young people and families to offer support and advice when it’s most needed. We can work with you in your local area at one of our centres or even in your home.

We can help you:

If you are worried about a child's health, development or behaviour
If you are a child carer or young person looking to find training or further education
If you are a child carer or young person looking for advice on employment or benefits

Maybe your child or your family is, or has been, affected by domestic abuse, drugs, alcohol or crime. Or maybe you’ve had a bereavement which has made things harder.

We can provide help in a child’s early years. We also support children who are missing from school or home and give support when children or young people are involved in risky behaviour.

Who Needs Early Help?

Early Help Teams can provide advice and support for the whole family on issues such as:

Parenting
Teenagers
Behaviour
Emotional wellbeing
Drugs and alcohol
Domestic abuse
Money, benefits and housing
Staying safe – outdoors and online
Places to go and things to do
Youth offending

Most children, young people and families in Rotherham thrive with access to universal services such as GP’s or school, but some families may need to access additional short-term support to address a specific problem, or may require more intensive, longer term support, when experiencing increasingly complex issues. The Early Help Service recognises that the needs of children, young people and families are not static and can change over time.

Providing early help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges at any point in a child’s life from pre-birth through to the teenage years.
Preventative approaches are also important to stop problems from emerging in the first place.
Early help can also support de-escalation and prevent further problems arising following statutory intervention.

Groups for young people

There are three Early Help Outreach and Engagement Teams that deliver community-based intervention for children, young people and families and in Rotherham’s. The teams are based in Family and Children’s Centre Hubs located in the North, South and Central areas of the borough. Outreach and Engagement Workers are frontline practitioners who deliver street based detached work in the evenings, during weekends and school holidays. Outreach support is available to support access to education, training and employment. There are also a number of groups across the Borough delivering group activities.

Rotherham Borough Council have developed an Evidenced Based Hub which offer evidence-based programmes delivered across the Borough. The Evidence Based Hub delivers a suite of parenting programmes, utilising trained facilitators from across the Early Help Locality Teams. There are Parenting Practitioners, trained to deliver Triple P 0-12 as well as Teen Triple P, Fear-less which supports parents to help manage their children’s anxiety, Timid to Tiger for anxiety in children 9 years or below and Stepping Stones 0-12 Triple P parenting program which is bespoke for children with additional needs.

The Evidence based programmes are delivered by experienced, well-trained facilitators, we have Parenting practitioners that facilitate Parenting Programs that are evidenced-based programs that work with families. Parenting Programs focus on family life skills including healthy communication, discipline, how to have family meetings, developing empathy, and dealing with aggressive or inappropriate behaviour.