Early Help is the extra support your family can get if you need it. It may be that you want to prevent a problem, or change things for your family before the problem becomes more serious.
It is not a specific service or team, it’s an approach that brings together people from a range of services and teams who will work together with your whole family to help improve the situation for everyone.
It can offer support to families from pre-birth to adolescents with all sorts of issues from parenting, employment and school attendance to emotional wellbeing or anti-social behaviour.
Devon Children and Families Partnership has an Early Help strategy to protect children or young people in Devon and provide help and advice to families as soon as they need it. Early Help is about more than child protection: it is about making sure that children living in Devon are safe, happy, healthy and well educated. Early Help co-ordinators work across Devon to ensure that those children and families needing help are receiving it from the right professionals.
If you feel that your family would benefit from Early Help, please contact a Designated Safeguarding Lead at the College.
Childline is a private and confidential service for children and young people up to the age of 19. Childline counsellors are trained staff and volunteers who all have experience of listening and talking to children and young people.
Runaway and homeless children
Children who run away or go missing from home or care
Provision of accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds who may be homeless and/or require accommodation
Cross-border child protection:
Safeguarding children who may have been trafficked
Care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery
Research and statistics:
Statistics: child death reviews
Statistics: children in need
NSPCC have teamed up with O2 to help parents untangle the web and teach their children to be Share Aware.
Babcock One Minute Guides are quick and easy to access safeguarding reference guides that can be used to cascade information to staff, Governors and volunteers as part of their regular safeguarding training.
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused (DfE advice)
Domestic abuse: various information/guidance (home office)
Faith based abuse: national action plan (dfe advice)
Relationship abuse: disrespect nobody (home office website)
Preventing bullying including cyberbullying (dfe advice)
Advice for 5-11 year old witnesses in criminal courts (moj advice)
Advice for 12-17 year old witnesses in criminal courts (moj advice)
Children missing education (dfe statutory guidance)
Children missing from home or care (dfe statutory guidance)
Children and adults missing strategy (home office strategy)
National information centre on children of offenders
County lines: criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults (home office guidance)
Child sexual exploitation: guide for practitioners (dfe)
Trafficking: safeguarding children (dfe and ho guidance)
Drugs: advice for schools (dfe and ACPO guidance)
Drugs strategy 2017 (home office strategy)
Information and advice on drugs (talk to frank website)
Female genital mutilation: information and resources (home office)
Female genital mutilation: multi agency statutory guidance (dfe, dh and ho statutory guidance)
Forced marriage: information and practive guidelines (foreign commonwealth office and home office)
Fabricated or induced illness: safeguarding children (de, department for health and home office)
Rise above: free pshe resources on health, wellbeing and resilience( public health england)
Medical conditions: supporting pupils at school (dfe statutory guidance)
Mental health and behaviour (dfe advice)
Homelessness: how local authorities should exercise their functions (hclg)
Sexting: responding to incidents and safeguarding children (uk council for child internet safety)
CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection command)
CHILDNET INTERNATIONAL
DIGIZEN
INTERNET MATTERS.ORG
UK SAFER iNTERNET CENTRE
THINK YOU KNOW
UK COUNCIL FOR INTERNET SAFETY
Private fostering: local authorities (dfe statutory guidance)
Prevent duty guidance (home office guidance)
Prevent duty advice for schools (dfe advice)
Educate against hate website (dfe and home office)
RIPPLE SUICIDE PREVENTION
PAPYRUS UK SUICIDE PREVENTION
SAMARITANS
CHILD ACCIDENT PREVENTION TRUST
Gangs and youth violence: for schools and colleges (home office advice)
Ending violence against women and girls 2016-2020 strategy (home office strategy)
Violence against women and girls: national statement of expectation for victims (home office guidance)
Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schoools and colleges (dfe advice)
Serious violence strategy (home office strategy)
MASH is a partnership between Devon County Council children’s social care, education and youth services; Devon NHS health services; Devon and Cornwall Police; and the Probation Service working together to safeguard children and young people. When a professional, family member or member of the public is concerned about a child or young person’s safety, they can contact MASH. They deal with all enquiries/referrals where there is a child protection concern.
Website: MASH
Telephone: 0345 155 1071 (stating ‘Urgent Enquiry’ for urgent situation)
E-mail:
Post: Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, P.O. Box 723, Exeter EX1 9QS
Fax: 01392 448 951 (do not post or fax MASH enquiries unless you have no other option)
Early Help and MASH Consultation: 0345 155 1071 (stating the service you require)
Police (non-emergency) 101
Children’s Social Care Emergency Duty Team (out of hours): 0845 6000 388
For all LADO enquiries Exeter: (01392) 384964
or
http://www.devon.gov.uk/lado
For concerns related to terrorism – Anti-Terrorist Hotline: 0800 789 321