Depending on your child’s and family’s level of need, different assessments might be undertaken by different departments in the council.

This might include:

• An early help assessment
• A child and family assessment
• A continuing healthcare assessment

Early Help

About Early Help

The purpose of Early Help is to give support to children and their families at the earliest opportunity and stop any problems they are experiencing from getting worse.

Any professional working with your family, such as those based in schools, health services, and in voluntary sector organisations, can offer Early Help as soon as they can see that advice, support and/or early help may be needed.

Early Help works best when it is offered to the whole family and when services are delivered jointly by professionals.

Early Help is everyone’s business.

Early Help Assessments

Early Help Assessments (EHA) are how professionals identify and assess your family's needs.

The assessment is completed in partnership with your family and other organisations such as the council, schools, health services to create a package of support that meets the needs of the whole family.

The Early Help Assessment means everyone can make sure the support is working and making a difference to your family.  It also helps to improve local services for everyone.

Locality teams

There are three Early Help locality teams in Warrington:

• East Team (Culcheth, Glazebury, Croft, Birchwood, Poulton North/South, Rixton, Woolston, Orford, Poplars and Hulme)
• South Team (Fairfield, Howley, Latchford East/West, Stockton Heath, Appleton, Grappenhall, Lymm, Thelwall)
• West Team (Burtonwood, Winwick, Westbrook, Great Sankey, Whittle Hall, Penketh, Cuerdley, Chapelford, Old Hall, Bewsey, Whitecross).

Each locality team is made up of staff from different professional backgrounds including early years, children centres, family support, youth services, parenting and other specialist services.

Locality teams work with other partner agencies such as schools, health, police, community safety team, housing providers, probation and substance misuse providers to support children and families.

Children's Centres

There are six children’s centres in Warrington that offer a variety of play-based learning activities for young children and their families.

We offer a variety of play and development opportunities, childcare, health advice and guidance, family support and parenting advice. With a particular focus on the most disadvantaged families, children’s centres aim to work with families to reduce inequalities in child development and school readiness.

Services are tailored in each area to meet the needs of local families.

Children’s centre services may include:

• Antenatal and post-natal care, including midwife appointments, health visitor advice drop-in, baby massage.
• Advice from a range of professionals such as Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB), health visitors, family support workers, and Early Years SEND support.
• Stay and play sessions for parents/carers and their children to help with social development and school readiness.

For details of what’s on at your local children’s centre call 01925 443444 or visit our facebook page.

Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities

If your child has special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) there is specialist support available including advocacy, advice and activities to help your child to achieve their personal learning, development and social goals.

SEND services can help you, as a parent/carer, and you child (up to the age of 25) to make informed decisions. Impartial advice and practical support is available on many topics including:

• Moving to high school or college
• Annual reviews
• Disagreement resolution

Specialist support for children with SEND includes the Early Years SEND Team. 

Support for older children and teenagers

The council's Youth Service works with young people aged 11-19, and up to 25 in some cases, to support their personal, social and emotional development.

There is a range of support available including personal one-to-one sessions and group sessions, which can be open to all or targeted specifically to young people experiencing similar difficulties. 

The support is aimed at:

• Building a young person’s self-esteem.
• Tackling substance misuse.
• Providing information and advice about sexual health.
• Improving social isolation.
• Challenging emotional and mental health difficulties.

The Hub (known previously as Orford Youth Base) is a purpose-built youth centre in Warrington and offers a range of activities and groups for young people including art projects to music production, discussion and debate, the centre is open regularly with a wide range of activities.  

To find out more, telephone 01925 442440.

Where to go:

The Hub
Capesthorne Road
Warrington

WA2 0JF.

The Hub (Formerly Orford Youth Base) | My Life Warrington

Family support

Family support is delivered by a dedicated team of workers known as the Family Support Team.  They can support you to help improve the life chances of your children if you, as a family, are experiencing challenges such as debt, housing issues, domestic violence, poor mental or emotional health, or substance misuse. 

The team will assess your situation and visit your home to help you to make improvements to your family life and wellbeing.

For families with children and young people who have SEND, there are dedicated SEND Family Support Workers. One a referral is received they will work with the family to complete an Early Help Assessment and put in place a support plans to meet the individual needs of your family. They can support with a wide range of challenges that you may be facing and is not limited to your child’s SEND needs.

They may complete the Short Breaks Allocation Tool if the Early Help Assessment identifies that you and your child would benefit from a break. The tool will help to identify how much and what type of support would be most beneficial to you and your child.

If you receive a Short Break, the SEND Family Support Workers will review the support in place to make sure all your child’s needs are met.

Parenting support

Parenting programmes are delivered across Warrington by various organisations, and they can help you based on your specific circumstances such as the age of your children, or your family's needs and goals.

Parenting programmes can help you, as a parent, provide the best possible environment for your children to develop socially and emotionally, and to reach their full potential. The programmes aim to promote your family's wellbeing and resilience by supporting you to build good relationships with your children from as early as possible, therefore reduce the likelihood of problems arising in the future.

How do I refer my child to Early Help?

If you need support for you or your family, you can ask any professional you are currently working with to make a referral or you can refer yourself.

Children and Families Request for Support - My Warrington

Children with disabilities

The Children with Disabilities (CwD) Social Work Team support disabled children and young people up to 18 years who have impairments or medical conditions which have a significant impact on their day-to-day life. This means that without help and support these children would not be able to thrive, play, grow, learn or contribute to their local community on an equal level to other children and young people of a similar age or development stage.

Referrals

To access the service, referrals are accepted by professionals working with you or your child using the following referral form:

Children and Families Request for Support - My Warrington

Referrals are accepted for children and young people:

• Who have a severe learning impairment or disability.
• With multiple impairments or disabilities.
• With an impairment or disability and a severe communication disability.
• With global development delay.
• With a severe sensory impairment.
• With a significant physical impairment or disability.

Assessments

The assessment process aims to identify:

• The nature of your child’s disability.
• How it impacts on your child’s life.
• Your child’s strengths.
• The whole needs and strengths of the family.

It also aims to find out what may need to change, recognising, that all families and children are different.

The assessment may be used (with your consent) as part of a further multi-agency assessment, which will help agencies to work together to provide services to you and your child.

The assessment will identify the level of your child’s needs – this will help professionals to determine the level of service offered to you and your child.

• High level of need applies to a child who has complex high care needs, requiring the input of specialist services for support.
• Moderate level of need applies to a child who would not achieve a reasonable standard of health and welfare due to a significant disability, without specialist services.
• Low level of need applies to a child with disabilities where need can be met by universal services.

To contact the Children with Disabilities Team, you can contact:

Duty and Assessment Team: Call 01925 443400

Out of hours referrals: Call 01925 444400

Email: childreferral@warrington.gov.uk

Continuing Health Care (CHC) Assessments

NHS Continuing Health Care is support provided for children, young people and adults who need a tailored package of care because of their disability, an accident or illness. Before this can be agreed a Continuing Health Care Assessment is completed. This is completed jointly between social care and health services. The assessment considers the level of the disability who should fund the package of support.