This information is for practitioners who have direct or indirect involvement with children and young people. This includes those who:
- have direct contact, for example, doctors, therapists, teachers, childcare/nursery staff, home-school link workers, youth workers, social workers, family support workers.
- work with adults who are parents or carers, for example, substance misuse workers, housing advice services, mental health and other health services.
- work in the voluntary, community or private sector, for example, Home-Start, clubs, leisure and sports providers.
Where possible practitioners should encourage families to seek support from universal services (such as healthcare and education) and those that offer early help (such as home-school link workers and Home-Start). Families should be encouraged to use the Family Information Service and SEND Local Offer to find support available to them. They can also be signposted to the 'self-help' section of our website. However, if you feel that a family's needs are at level 3 or 4 based on the Continuum of Support for children and families living in Surrey, a referral to the Children's Single Point of Access (C-SPA) will be needed.
If you have concerns about a child, you can call us on 0300 470 9100 Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. You will always be asked to complete a request for support form if you are seeking support for a family. Out of these hours, call our emergency duty team 01483 517898. In an emergency where you are concerned for the child's immediate safety, you should call Surrey Police on 999.
Useful documents
- One-minute guides to Early Help and Children's Services: to help your understanding of some of the support, services, and processes in Surrey based on common queries.
- Surrey Early Help Assessment form (DOC): to complete with families to identify their strengths and what they would like to be different.
- Partnership Early Help Assessment practitioner guidance 2020 (PDF): good practice guidance for completing an Early Help Assessment.
- Continuum of Support for children and families living in Surrey: to help identify the level of support that a child, young person or family may need.
- Request for support form: must be completed when referring a child, young person or family for support through the C-SPA.
Useful information
- Our approach in Surrey – Effective Family Resilience and The Family Safeguarding Model
- Learners' Single Point of Access (L-SPA)
- The Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership
- Safeguarding Disabled Children
- Safeguarding children - Local child safeguarding practice reviews
- Sexual abuse by children or young people
- Our Corporate Parenting Board and Strategy
- Surrey Virtual School
- Surrey Care Leavers Service
- Celebration Fund for Looked After Children and Care Leavers
- Guidance on children or young people in entertainment
Effective Family Resilience and The Family Safeguarding Model
In Surrey we have adopted The Family Safeguarding Model, an evidence-based model of practice focused on keeping families together where it is safe to do so.
The Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP)
The Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) brings together representatives from different organisations in Surrey to agree how they will work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The SSCP have resources for practitioners, parents and carers and young people that provide advice and support on a wide range of topics as well as supporting to keep children and young people safe.
Disabled children
If you work with disabled children and young people there is guidance on safeguarding them Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) procedures manual and supporting guidance.
Safeguarding children - Local child safeguarding practice reviews
In some instances where a child has suffered significant harm, a local child safeguarding practice review is carried out to see what lessons can be learnt about how local practitioners and organisations worked together and to make recommendations so that the welfare of children is better protected in future.
Information on these and other learning reviews are held on the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership website.
Sexual abuse by children or young people
Our Assessment Consultation Therapy (ACT) team works with schools, partner agencies and social care professionals – as well as with the children, young people and their parents – to reduce sexual abuse by children and young people.
Celebration fund for looked after children and care leavers
The Celebration Fund is a small, discretionary fund that all Members are asked to contribute to, which as corporate parents we set aside to recognise, and reward looked after children and care leavers for their achievements.
Find out more about eligibility and the application process for the celebration fund.
Files available to download
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Surrey Early Help Assessment Form (MS Word)
Assessment tool to discuss and record the family's needs, strengths and goals -
Partnership Early Help Assessment practitioner guidance 2020 (PDF)
Partnership Early Help Assessment guidance for practitioners 2020
