Safeguarding, Levels of Support
Our work at Little Acorns with children in our care, and in Partnership with Parents, aims to build resilience, both as individuals and as a family unit facing day to day issues, challenges, and setbacks. Resilience helps children and families protect themselves in the face of these setbacks and problems. We take guidance from Surrey’s Effective Family Resilience initiative. We understand that from time to time, parents, families, and children need some extra support to face tricky times or to deal with circumstantial changes and challenges. Using Surrey’s ‘Level of Need’, we can work with families to help sign post them in the direction of the help they need, or help them to access services, interventions, or some very targeted/specialist assistance. This will help them to have their needs met, and to improve outcomes for young children at the earliest opportunity. It also will ultimately work to keep children safe. Whatever the circumstances, children will be at the centre of all that we do, and any work we undertake with the family or with any integrated services.
Effective Family Resilience aims to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. It works to the families’ strengths, using the skills that the family already has, to solve the problem before it escalates into something seemingly unmanageable. It looks for ways that families and communities can positively support each other. Working in partnership with parents we can be clear, consistent, and open about the outcomes we want to achieve, to make a positive difference. Keeping the children and their developmental and safety needs at the centre of all we do.
The Levels of Need support identifies challenges faced in areas such as health, housing, work, behavioural development, care, safety, family relationships, education, family functioning, emotional stability, boundaries, identity, and self-esteem.
The ‘levels of need’ process helps professionals to identify the right kind of help at the right time. |
Level 1 – Universal. Children and young people in this group are making good progress overall in most areas of development and will receive appropriate universal services like health care or education. A health visitor, GP, dietician, physiotherapist, or dentist for example, may be able to offer the advice needed. It might be that the Family Information Service can identify agencies or groups who can provide personalised guidance. It might be that online forums, online platforms or websites can offer the right kind of support or advice. The services will be local.
Level 2 – Early Help. In this group children and young people’s needs may require a little extra support. A single universal or targeted service or two may be involved. These services should work supportively together to meet a range of needs, drawing on the skills of the group with the child at the centre, called a Team Around the Family (TAF). At a TAF meeting information will be shared. An Early Help Plan will be helpful to support the child and the family. With everyone working together, both universal and targeted services, an Early Help Assessment may not be required at this point but can be used if necessary.
Level 3 – Targeted Help. At this level vulnerable children may have more complex needs, as these may be greater in range and depth, and be quite significant. More than one service would be involved through a Team Around the Child approach, with a lead professional co-ordinating a multi-agency approach. Children may be at significant risk.
Level 4 – Specialist Help. Children may have needs that are complex and enduring and may cross many of the areas of social development, health, learning, relationships – both family and social, and identity and self-esteem. There will be a co-ordinated multi agency approach, a lead professional and at times a statutory intervention may be required.
A request for support will be agreed and discussed with the family unless there is an immediate risk to the child’s safety. The consultation line is available to all professionals if there is a debate about whether a child’s needs meet a level 4 threshold.
A request for support will be agreed and discussed with the family unless there is an immediate risk to the child’s safety. The consultation line is available to all professionals if there is a debate about whether a child’s needs meet a level 4 threshold.
Date: Oct 23
Signed: AOKane Date: 26.10.23
Signed: MOkane Date: 26.10.23
Signed: AOKane Date: 26.10.23
Signed: MOkane Date: 26.10.23