Step by step: getting early help

Getting help early can stop worries from growing. It also helps make sure the right people in Oxfordshire work together to support you and your family. 

Taking the first step to ask for help can feel hard – but it’s an important one. We’ll work with you, your family and services across Oxfordshire to support you moving forward. 

Video: Early help guide for families

Why you might want help 

You might be worried about: 

• your own health, or your child's health, development or behaviour 
• how things are going at school or nursery 
• money or housing problems, and how they're affecting your family 

You may also be dealing with something difficult, such as: 

• caring for someone else 
• a bereavement 
• domestic abuse 
• mental health concerns 
• drugs or alcohol 
• crime 

These situations can feel overwhelming. Early help is about offering support before things become a crisis. 

You don't have to deal with this on your own. 

You can talk to someone you trust, such as: 

• a teacher 
• a health visitor 
• a midwife 
  a school health nurse 
• an early years practitioner 
• a doctor 
• a voluntary or community worker 
• another professional who already knows you or your family 

They will listen and help you think about what support might help. 

Strengths and needs 

The professional supporting you may suggest using a strengths and needs document. This helps you: 

• talk about what's going well 
• explain what's difficult right now 
• agree together on what to write down 

This document can help make sure you don't have to repeat your story to lots of different people. It’s a record of what you talked about, so you get the right support.

Your children's views are important. With your agreement, you and the professional can decide who is best placed to speak with them, and how.

Completing it means that if you require support from other professionals, it will help them understand how they can help, without you having to repeat yourself. 

Sometimes, the strengths and needs conversation is enough to create a simple plan that supports you and your family. 

If this works for you, no further steps may be needed. 

If more support is needed, and only with your permission, the professional you trust can speak to other services. 

They will: 

• share the information you've agreed to 
• bring together people who can offer advice or practical help 
• work with you to make sure support fits your family's needs

Once a decision has been made about the right support, there are different ways we can help.