Early Help
The Hounslow Early Help Commitment was developed in 2019 through The Early Help Partnership and has been updated in 2023-2026. The commitment articulates the vision, principles, outcomes and priorities we are committed to in Hounslow to support positive outcomes and experiences for children, young people and their families. We aim for all agencies to deliver collaborative, co–produced and co-ordinated early help services that build on strengths, develop skills, nurture resilience and hear the voice of children, young people and their families, especially when they are experiencing difficulties at home or in the wider community. The commitment reinforces our collective responsibility to keep children and young people safe, healthy, engaged in learning and to support those who care for them to be emotionally, socially and economically resilient.
The Commitment will move towards our vision by delivering:
- Collective aims and outcomes for early help across all services in the borough, including an agreed format for measuring multi-agency success
- Development of the Hounslow Early Help Offer – services for families and support for practitioners
- An agreed multi-agency early help practice approach
- Easily accessible information and co-ordinated pathways for early help.
The Hounslow Early Help Offer
The Hounslow Early Help Offer is a collection of services which aim to provide effective support to families as soon as difficulties start, to prevent them from getting worse. These services cover a range of areas, from parenting to health to education to specialist support for teenagers. A family’s school, nursery or GP will also be able to help.
Practitioners in these services will discuss with families where things are working well and where they need extra support. They will help families to move forward and to access additional services where these may be able to help.
View information on the Hounslow Early Help Offer
Family Hubs
At the heart of our Early help offer is our Family Hubs. Family Hubs are a friendly and safe environment for babies, children, young people, parents and carers to access support and services they need. They provide a single point of contact for families with children aged 0-19, or up to 25 years old if they have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The aim of Family Hubs is to provide the right support that families need when they need it with three key principles, access, connection and relationships.
Access – Family hubs are a clear and simple point of access for help and support
Connection – Services and professionals working together
Relationships – A focus on the family, relationships are the key, building on strengths.
Family Hubs will deliver a range of joined-up services, focusing particularly on the best start to life offer, parenting support, infant feeding support, early language support and perinatal mental health support.
There are three Family Hubs in Hounslow, which are located in Brentford, Lampton and Feltham.
Hounslow’s Start to Life Offer
Threshold Guidance & Assessment Protocol
Hounslow has adopted the Pan London Threshold Guidance and Assessment Protocol which provides revised and up-dated guidance to determine thresholds and an assessment protocol to assess and support children with additional needs, and their families.
The guidance includes Children’s Services assessment protocol to clarify professional responsibilities, expectations and ensure that children and young people receive timely:
- Early help services to prevent problems escalating, and;
- Statutory services to safeguard and promote their welfare
The guidance is primarily targeted at professionals who meet children and families and have a concern about a child’s development, welfare or safety. Understanding and appreciating how thresholds are applied will help professionals decide what to do and inform the action that they take. This will enable services to work well together and in the best interests of children and families.
It is expected that practice across all agencies within Hounslow is underpinned by the following two key principles;
- Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility: for services to be effective each professional and organisation should play their full part, and;
- Child-centred approach: for services to be effective they should be based on a clear understanding of the needs and views of children.
To make a referral please use the Children’s Social Care Referral Portal