AllChild and Early Help Support
- Early Help offers preventative support by connecting children and families to community programmes, and specialist support with the aim of preventing risks from escalating into crises
- AllChild has worked with thousands of children and families, signposting and connecting many of them with Early Help services, providing them with the right support at the right time, so that they can thrive in life. AllChild has seen how a place-based, holistic approach leads to collective impact, that unlocks access to opportunities and helps overcome barriers
- AllChild facilitates the formation of strong, long-lasting relationships with Early Help. For Early Help this provides them a greater understanding of the children and families they are working with, and this enables families to feel they can access the support within their communities at a later date if they need to
The Role of AllChild in the Early Help System
Early Help is a pre-statutory preventative service, helping families before the point of crisis aiming to ensure escalation does not occur. It engages families with key support services, professionals, and resources, to help provide the right support. The current system is under strain and often fragmented, and thresholds for support can be quite high, meaning families are often unaware of the services available to them in their community, or unable to access them.
AllChild works with children and young people to provide them with the resources they need to flourish in life, socially, emotionally, and academically. We provide each child with an AllChild Link Worker, a trusted adult who is with them and their family from day one of our Impact Programme, and alongside teachers and professionals, provide a tailored support plan. AllChild recognises how a holistic approach, with collective support, leads to collective impact, that unlocks access to opportunities and helps overcome barriers. Our Link Workers are able to identify where families and children may be struggling, and signpost them to early help services available to them in their community that they may not know about otherwise. Without this link, it is harder for families to build up a trusted relationship with these support services, meaning they find it harder to engage with them even when at a point of crisis. Through collaborating with Early Help, our Link Workers are able to be the bridge between families and support services, establishing strong foundations for connections and sustainable relationships to develop. Together, we are able to offer this wrap-around support that enables positive, meaningful change.
Overcoming Barriers and Supporting Family Engagement with Early Help
The AllChild Link Worker Model is all about the importance and value of building a trusted relationship between them and the child and their families, and through this, support can be made more accessible. Building upon these relationships, the Link Worker is able to facilitate vital engagement between families and community services. At Westminster Academy, Sofia, an AllChild Link Worker, works with 10 young people who are all involved in Early Help and Social Services, out of a cohort of 30. Sofia has been a crucial link between the various services in these families’ lives. There can be a sense of fear and stigma surrounding Early Help services, especially for parents, which at times can be a barrier to making support accessible. Sofia created space for parents to voice any concerns they had, was able to offer reassurance, answer questions, and clarify what exactly Early Help is, the support on offer, and provide a safe environment for these discussions to occur. Through attending the initial meetings alongside the parents and providing support in the early interactions between families and Early Help, positive relationships were formed and provided a strong foundation for further future engagement. She also supported with meetings, including Team Around Family (TAF), so that the right support at the right time was provided for each individual child and family.
Zach was one young person, who before engaging in AllChild’s Impact programme, had low attendance, was behind academically, and struggled to form peer relationships. His school had wellbeing and safeguarding concerns, and believed that closer ties between his family and the community would be greatly beneficial. Sophie was Zach’s Link Worker and she was able to be the bridge between Zach, his family, and the community.
The first step was for Sophie to meet with Zach’s Deputy Head and Social Worker to agree on the best plan for Zach’s support. Sophie would begin by helping Zach’s mum to access Early Help support at the local community centre, and by walking with her, and meeting with the Early Help team, the trusted relationship between them began to grow. When she now sees Sophie at the school gate, Zach’s mum updates her on what programmes she is engaging with at the community centre. Having Zach’s mum engage with the programme also encouraged Zach himself to engage. As the relationship grew, Zach’s mum was able to ask Sophie for further support when communicating with Zach’s school. Sophie was able to help translate school communications for her and sent her reminders and details about events at the school. This meant that for the first time, Zach’s mum was able to attend Zach’s class show which massively boosted his confidence.
Connecting the Dots - Helping to Provide Vital Insights
The role of the AllChild Link Worker offers a unique system of support. Through one-to-ones as well as group sessions, they are there for each young person daily, championing them throughout their time on the Impact Programme. Their role is also part of the wider picture, acting as the key jigsaw piece in the holistic, wrap-around model - which also involves other specialist services from the AllChild network of charity partners. Sofia is present at the school daily, which gives her key insight into each specific young person she is working with. She is able to report back to Early Help practitioners, provide them updates on a young person’s wellbeing and learning engagement or alert them towards more pressing concerns. It is through this link between Sofia and Early Help that enables the practitioners to better understand the context and circumstances surrounding each specific individual and offer more tailored support. In one instance, a young person was marked as being at school but not physically present. Sofia alerted Early Help, who then were able to follow up with the young person and their mum, to discuss the dangers of this. Sofia was also able to work alongside Early Help to support another young person as they returned from Off-Site Provision. Together they met with the young person , to help build his confidence and support his parents during this time. This joined-up approach meant that the young person was supported in all aspects of the transition period, having Sofia physically in the school to help with meetings with the Head Teacher and have access to additional support from the community.
Creating Lasting, Sustainable Change
Embedding families into their local community has significant positive outcomes. Zach’s story continues past the end of the AllChild two-year Impact Programme. While working with Sophie, he had engaged with a homework club. Zach made great progress and after the end of hisAllChild Impact Programme,was disappointed that his time at homework club would be coming to an end. Sophie was able to refer him to a homework club run by a local community centre, ensuring that Zach could continue accessing the support he needed, but through a wider service that knew him, his needs, and felt familiar. Through connecting with their wider community, and having support made accessible to them through AllChild, families have formed strong relationships with Early Help and community services which continues into the future that they can call upon when needed and continue to grow and develop the skills they need to positively take on life.
