Prevention and Early Help

What does it do?

Prevention and Early Help is the name we give to the way we support families and communities in Bradford. Prevention is about stopping problems emerging in the first place. Early Help is about preventing problems that are happening from getting worse. Prevention and Early Help is about making sure families receive prompt and assertive help as early as possible when needs are identified, either by families themselves asking for help or professionals having worries or seeing needs before they become problematic. It can include both support to the family in the earliest years of a child’s life and a swift response to the emergence of a problem at any stage later in their lives. A good Early Help plan supports the parents so we can make things better for the children. GPs, health visiting, schools, Colleges, Family Hubs, school nurses, youth services, child care or other community settings often provide most support through working together on a day-to-day basis. All schools and colleges are also expected to set out how they will provide support to pupils, particularly those with special educational or additional needs.

Who is it for?

All families All schools and colleges are also expected to set out how they will provide support to pupils, particularly those with special educational or additional needs. "I am a family member and/or professional and I want to find out about local activities, short breaks for disabled children and young people, parenting groups and support in my area".

How do I access it?

If you are a professional and want to find out about local activities and support for children, families and young people, please visit the Families Information Service website and/or SEND Local Offer, which provides information and services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including short breaks.

How can I find out more?

What information do we collect?

• Universal Services – for you and your child
• name
• address
• contact details
• date of birth
• gender
• Ethnicity
• Special Educational Needs and Disability
• Events and services accessed

Early Help – in addition to the above information, we also collect

• Reasons for support – what is working well and what you are worried about
• Assessment and plan information – further details of your situation and how we are going to work together to bring about the changes you want to see

In order to provide Early Help Services, we also obtain sensitive personal information from the following sources, where appropriate:

• involvement with other Children’s Services teams from Bradford Council
• medical information from Health services
• attendance and exclusion information from schools
• housing information from Incommunities
• details of adults out of work from Department of Work and Pensions
• details of any criminal offences from the Police
• details of victims of youth crime from the Police

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You can find out about a range of family support in your area such as parenting groups as well as local activities and short breaks for disabled children and young people.

Start by visiting our Families Information Service pages or visit our Local Offer website.

You can contact the Families Information Service by calling our helpline on 01274 437503 for free and confidential advice, or Text 'FIS' to 07781472076 and we will call you back, or email: fis@bradford.gov.uk

If you can’t find the information you need here, use our Early Help postcode checker to find support in your area, or call the Early Help Gateway on 01274 432121 during office hours.

The Early Help Gateway staff will ask you to be as clear as you can about:

• What it is you are worried about?
• What is going well for your family and who already helps you?
• How we think extra support will help you and your family?

The Early Help Gateway will provide confidential advice and guidance and, if needed, will link you through to groups and services near your family.  

If you have information to share with us through a secure email then email: earlyhelpgateway@bradford.gcsx.gov.uk.  If you are not on a secure email account please call 01274 432121 for different ways to share information securely. 

If have a concern that a child is being harmed as a result of abuse or neglect, you must not keep these concerns to yourself.  You should call:

• Children's Initial Contact Point - 01274 437500 during office hours
• At all other times, call the Emergency Duty Team on 01274 431010
• If you have reason to believe that a child is at immediate risk of harm, contact the police on 999

Visit these pages if you are concerned about adult abuse or domestic violence. 

More information about Early Help is also available on the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board website.

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