Early help and the Locality Community Support Service (LCSS)
For professionals: early help and the Locality Community Support Service.
What is early help?
Most children and their families have a good quality of life with minimal support from public services. But at times, family life and raising children can be demanding and complex. Problems can arise, and families may need extra help from universal, targeted, and specialist services.
Early help can make the biggest difference. Children and families can be supported when needs are identified promptly before problems escalate. Working with a child and their family to address their needs early can reduce risk factors (needs) and increase protective factors (strengths).
Early help is the collection of all services that work with children and families, and how they work together in a coordinated way to support children when additional or complex needs are identified.
Your responsibilities
All agencies working with children and families are responsible for listening to their concerns and worries to ensure the right support is offered at the right time. This includes using the strengths and needs (a tool to explore family life) and, where necessary, a team around the family (TAF) meeting to ensure coordinated support for children and families.
We want families to know that it is always OK to ask for help.
Oxfordshire has an Early Help Strategy to which all partner agencies are signed up, ensuring families are offered early help when an emerging need is identified.
The Locality Community Support Service (LCSS)
We offer advice and support to community partners to deliver early help in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.
To support the ambitions of the early help strategy, LCSS can advise and support professionals and families on:
- early help - including the use of 'strengths and needs' (a tool to explore family life)
- team around the family meetings
We are present in schools and work with community partners. We offer advice, but also take strategic responsibility for bringing partners together in localities to embed early help and collectively improve outcomes for children and families.
Locality and Community Support Service Update from 1 September 2023.
Contact us
Tel: 0345 2412705
Email: LCSS@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8.30am to 5pm (Mon to Thurs), 8.30am to 4pm (Fri).
Locality and Community Support Service (LCSS) - Named conversation
Find practitioner information about named conversations on the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership website.
LCSS core offer
- locality workers provide visits and review meetings to settings, offering advice and support on delivering early help to improve the outcomes for children and their families
- we provide named conversations to discuss strengths and needs, team around family meetings, and give information on other supports in the community and advice on next steps where necessary
- we quality assure community strengths and needs and provide professional recommendations to improve outcomes for children and ensure multi-agency involvement
- support professionals with strengths and needs, and the formation of team around the family meetings, and attend where needed to strengthen resources and plans
- lead community around the school/setting offer (CASO)
- facilitate locality networking events to share knowledge and build relationships in local areas to improve outcomes for children and families
- facilitate peer-to-peer support meetings to improve early help practice
When to contact us
Before you contact us, you should:
- refer to the threshold of needs matrix
- tell the family that you are contacting us for advice – use the Early help guide for families Sept 2023 to support conversations about us and early help
You can call us if you need advice, support or guidance about early help, including:
- use of the strengths and needs tool
- team around the family meetings to support families at an early help level
- advice on what other agencies/voluntary sector services are available to support families in localities
For immediate safeguarding concerns
If you are concerned that a child is at risk of, or is suffering actual significant harm (see below for examples) you should contact the MASH team immediately.
- Allegations/concerns that the child has been sexually/physically abused
- Concerns that the child is suffering from severe neglect or other severe health risks
- Concern that a child is living in or will be returned to a situation that may place him/her at immediate risk
- The child is frightened to return home
- The child has been abandoned or parent is absent
Before contacting either LCSS or the MASH please speak to your Designated Safeguarding Lead in the first instance who will be able to offer advice and support