Early Help (EHAT)
Together We make a difference
There may be times when you or your children need support, and times when you are not sure what you need to do to make things better. For some time now, agencies and services have been working together to help families, as we know that the sooner help and support is provided, the better families can begin to help themselves and more importantly, it does stop things getting worse. This support comes through an EHAT (Early Help Assessment Tool).
When is an EHAT needed?
The EHAT will promote more effective, earlier identification of additional needs, particularly in universal services. It is intended to provide a simple process for a holistic assessment of a children’s needs and strengths, taking account of the role of parents, carers and environmental factors on their development.
Practitioners will then be better placed to agree, with the child and family, about what support is appropriate. The EHAT will also help to improve integrated working by promoting co-ordinated service provision.
The EHAT is not intended to replace or delay any concerns around child protection. If you believe a child is at risk please report it.
An EHAT is a useful tool when reporting concerns, as this can show what is already known about the children in a family, what actions have been taken, who is involved in supporting the family, and why the level of concern needs to be reported as a risk.
At St Gregory's Mrs Roney and Mrs Green lead our EHATs.