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<\/p>\nSafeguarding children is a complex process. There are many initiatives in place to\u00a0support to young people and their families, but determining the best action to take can often be a difficult decision. Safeguarding issues are not always clear cut and a safeguarding concern can come to your attention in many different ways.<\/p>\n
One safeguarding initiative that aims to uncover what support a child may need is a Common Assessment Framework, now known as an Early Help Assessment.<\/p>\n
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In recent years, the Common Assessment Framework has been replaced by an Early Help Assessment (EHA). The EHA is based on the same principles as the CAF but it is much simpler and more straightforward to use.<\/p>\n
An Early Help Assessment is an initial assessment and planning tool that facilitates and coordinates multi-agency support. It assesses the situation of the child or young person and their family and helps to identify the needs of both the children and the adults in the family.<\/p>\n
It is a shared tool that multiple agencies can use to develop a coordinated response. This improves involvement between agencies and ensures that the child and their family are getting all the support that they need from wherever they need it. By doing this, the assessment aims to resolve any problems in their early stages and therefore removes the need for the intervention of social care.<\/p>\n
Early Help Assessments are most beneficial for children or families that have low level needs which can be met through short-term intervention. This is because an EHA allows professionals to effectively identify any emerging needs<\/strong> of children. If children do have emerging needs that require action, then these children are generally referred to as having additional needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n Examples of additional needs that the EHA may identify are:<\/p>\n Our range of Safeguarding Training Courses<\/a> aim to provide you with the required knowledge to carry out your work whilst meeting your safeguarding requirements. Find everything from Advanced Safeguarding Children (Level 2)<\/a> to Child Mental Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a national approach to assessing any unmet needs that a child might have. It involves deciding how these needs can be identified and how they can be met effectively.<\/p>\n The CAF is an assessment tool that practitioners and professionals, in any organisation or establishment, can use to support early intervention for a child or young person and their parents. It provides evidence for referrals to targeted and specialist services and helps to inform decisions about whether further assessments are necessary for the child.<\/p>\n The CAF provides a realistic picture of a child\u2019s needs across all aspects of their life, including medically, at home, and at school. If it\u2019s identified that a child needs additional support in a range of areas, then the assessment provides a strong ground for multi-agency working. This is because multiple agencies and disciplines will all share a common understanding about the issues they\u2019re working to address.<\/p>\n To complete a CAF, all practitioners who are working with a child or their family should fill in the national standard form. Within this form, they should record information on:<\/p>\n This information should then be analysed and a plan for delivering multi-agency, integrated services should be implemented.<\/p>\n The Early Help Assessment doesn\u2019t differ drastically to CAF. The main differences that you will see with the EHA are:<\/p>\n A lead professional, who already provides support to the child and family, should undertake the Early Help Assessment. For example, a GP, support worker, or teacher.<\/p>\n Before you carry out an EHA, you must have agreement from both the child and their parents\/carers. You must also involve the child in the assessment and discussion, as well as their family and other professionals who work with them.<\/p>\n You do not need specific training to complete an Early Help Assessment. However, it\u2019s important that if you do undertake this role you have some previous experience with the child and their family.<\/p>\n Ideally, you should undertake safeguarding training<\/a> so you know what to look out for and how to respond. You should feel confident in your safeguarding knowledge and be able to offer help and support to the child and their family.<\/p>\n If you reach a conclusion that a child is at risk of harm, then you should make a referral to social care straight away. If you suspect that a child at immediate risk<\/strong>\u00a0and is in danger, then you should contact the police without delay.<\/p>\n The Early Help Assessment is a very useful tool for deciding whether a child and their family needs help and support. It should be a multi-agency support mechanism that focuses on a family’s strengths as well as their issues, and it should give practical and positive help.<\/em><\/p>\n An Early Help Assessment replaces the Common Assessment Framework previously in place to identify extra support for children & families. Read more here. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":40480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[73,75,80],"class_list":["post-40201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safeguarding","tag-mental-health","tag-safeguarding-children","tag-teachers-and-parents"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"\n\n
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<\/div>\nNeed a Course?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nWhat is the Common Assessment Framework and Is it Still in Use?<\/h2>\n
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How Does an EHA Differ to CAF?<\/h3>\n
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![\"Group](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/school-children.jpg\")
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\nWho Can Carry Out Early Help Assessments?<\/h3>\n
\nDo I Need Training to Complete an Early Help Assessment?<\/h3>\n
\nWhat If a Child is at Immediate Risk?<\/h2>\n
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\nWhat to Read Next:<\/h3>\n
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