The Family Information Service can advise you about the services available to you that best support your needs. Call them on 020 8825 5588, (Mon-Fri, 9am to 1pm) or email children@ealing.gov.uk
For families with children under the age of five there is a service called Early Start Ealing (learn more from the link on the right). Early Start Workers are based within children’s centres, but do outreach work going into the local community as well as arranging home visits to support and engage with families.
Early Start Workers can help families to:
- Manage child behaviour through parenting advice and support
- Apply for two-year-old free childcare and nursery for three and four-year-olds
- Access health services such as Speech and Language Therapy
- Access specialist services such as Children in Need
- Access help and support with issues such as domestic abuse or debt
- Understand and complete application forms.
For families with children and young people of all ages who need help and support with a number of issues and concerns, a good way to express them and ask for help is to have an Early Help Assessment and Plan (EHAP) carried out for you.
An EHAP gathers professionals from a number of services who can meet with you and your child to discuss what your needs are and how they are affecting your child’s life and development. The meeting is called a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting.
Using the EHAP process means you only need to go through one assessment of need and that you are fully involved in deciding what help and support you will receive. You will also be given a contact person to keep in touch with and a plan of what help will be given to you, who will give it and when.
The EHAP is a completely voluntary process that you can opt out of at any time.
To find out more about EHAP ask a professional you are comfortable with such as a teacher at your child’s school or your health visitor. The Family Information Service or an Early Start Worker can also start an EHAP for you so please get in touch.
Alternatively you can send an email to EHAP@ealing.gov.uk for more information.
It is important to do something about a concern or problem as soon as it comes up so that help can be given early to ensure the best possible results for you and your child.