Best Practice

Early help & safeguarding: Three ways to support staff understanding

Early help is an integral part of effective safeguarding practice and must be a key part of staff training. Elizabeth Rose offers some expert advice and practical pointers
Image: Adobe Stock

“Early help” is a “system of support which aims to support children and families as soon as problems emerge” as described in the statutory guidance Working together to safeguard children (DfE, 2023a).

Schools deliver a significant amount of early help by supporting children and families directly in many creative ways and as part of groups of specialist professionals around families that offer targeted early help support.

While the main responsibilities for sourcing, co-ordinating, seeking or implementing early help support are likely to lie with pastoral and safeguarding teams, the statutory guidance Keeping children safe in education (DfE, 2023b) is clear about the responsibilities of all staff within this arena.

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