# What is Family Help, and how is it different from early help? Source page: https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/family-help Last updated: 2026-10-20 Publisher: Pupil Protect (Glacier Labs Ltd) > Family Help is the support in England that brings targeted early help and child in need support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 into one offer, with a single Family Help assessment, a plan made with the family and one lead practitioner coordinating it, as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026. It is voluntary and needs the family's consent. Everyday support from schools, health and Best Start Family Hubs is still called universal services and community-based early help, and child protection under section 47 sits outside Family Help. ## The short answer Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 reorganised the language of help for children and families in England. There are now three broad levels, with Family Help covering two kinds of support: | Level | What it is | Legal basis | Consent | Who leads | |---|---|---|---|---| | Universal services and community-based early help | Everyday support from schools, health, family hubs, youth services and others | No statutory threshold | Voluntary | The service involved | | Family Help: targeted early help | Coordinated support for families with multiple or complex needs, with a plan | Sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004 | Voluntary, needs consent | A Family Help lead practitioner | | Family Help: child in need | Statutory support and services for a child in need | Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 | Voluntary, needs consent | A lead practitioner, who may or may not be a social worker | | Child protection | Enquiries where there is reasonable cause to suspect significant harm | Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 | A statutory duty on the local authority | A social worker | Sources: Working Together 2026, paragraphs 122, 125, 126, 135, 138 and 172. ## What Family Help is Working Together 2026 says Family Help brings targeted early help and child in need support closely together to create "a seamless system of help and support", built on consistent relationships with lead practitioners and simple assessment and planning (paragraph 123). Families can move between targeted early help and section 17 support without starting again. Targeted early help covers services such as parenting support, mental health support, domestic abuse services, youth services and housing and employment support. It is for families with multiple or complex needs, or whose circumstances make them more vulnerable (paragraph 134). The law hasn't changed. DfE's Families First Partnership programme guide says the legislative framework is not changing, and local authorities keep their duty to children in need. The guide expects safeguarding partners to bring targeted early help and child in need into a single Family Help offer, and to reflect it in a refreshed threshold document, by **March 2027**. ## How it works for a family Working Together 2026 describes the main parts (paragraphs 136, 138 and 144): - **One assessment.** Where a family would benefit from targeted support because of multiple or complex needs, there should be a multi-disciplinary Family Help assessment. Safeguarding partners should have a **single** Family Help assessment that can be adapted to the child's needs, so families don't have to repeat their story if things change. It is done with the agreement of the child and their parents or carers. - **One plan.** Support is coordinated through a Family Help plan designed with the child and family and updated as their needs change, including if section 17 or section 47 work becomes necessary. - **A team around the family.** Practitioners working with the family should communicate well, for example through regular multi-disciplinary meetings. Many areas call these team around the family meetings. The Families First Partnership programme guide sets out how the lead practitioner coordinates this team. - **Family group decision-making.** Areas should use approaches such as family group conferences to involve the wider family network. Families usually come to Family Help after a practitioner, such as a school, health visitor or GP, identifies a need, but they can also ask for help themselves. Working Together asks local authorities to make contact details clear so that children, parents and other family members know who to contact for advice or support (paragraph 163). ## Local procedures vary Local areas are introducing Family Help at different speeds and under different names. Some still call it early help. The referral route, the assessment form and who can be a lead practitioner are all set locally. Working Together asks safeguarding partners to publish a threshold document (paragraph 125) and a local protocol for assessment that says who can act as lead practitioner (paragraph 154). Read both for your area. ## Is it voluntary? Yes. Working Together says Family Help "is a voluntary approach, requiring the family's consent" (paragraph 135). The Family Help assessment should be done with the agreement of the child and their parents or carers (paragraph 144). If a family doesn't consent, practitioners should try to understand why, make sure the family knows the support is voluntary, and think about how the child's needs could be met another way, for example through universal services. Practitioners should still tell the family that their data will be recorded and shared. If there are concerns that the child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm, a referral should be made to children's social care **immediately** (paragraph 146). ## The lead practitioner Each family in Family Help has a lead practitioner who coordinates support, makes sure the assessment and plan respond to the family's needs, and helps the family co-produce the plan (paragraph 137). The role can be held by social workers, other local authority staff, including in a Best Start Family Hub, or staff in partner organisations. A practitioner who starts with a family at the targeted early help stage can carry on if the child is later assessed as a child in need (paragraph 138). If child protection concerns arise later, the Family Help lead practitioner should keep working with the family and be involved in decisions, while social workers with child protection expertise lead the child protection work (paragraph 251). ## The school's part KCSIE 2026 asks all staff to be ready to identify children who may benefit from Family Help (paragraph 6) and to know the local criteria for referring to it (paragraph 13). It lists children staff should be particularly alert to, including young carers, children with special educational needs, children who are persistently absent and children at risk of exploitation (paragraph 18). When a concern is raised, the options include support within school, a Family Help assessment or a referral to statutory services (paragraph 60). Where a child doesn't need statutory services, the DSL generally leads liaison with other agencies and setting up an assessment. Staff may support it, and sometimes act as the lead practitioner. KCSIE says these cases should be kept under constant review, with a referral to children's social care considered if things aren't improving or are getting worse (paragraph 64). Working Together also points out that schools are "uniquely placed" to spot concerns early through daily contact with children and families (paragraph 131). ## Questions **Is family help the same as early help?** Not exactly. Working Together 2026 splits what used to be called early help in two. Universal services and community-based early help, from schools, health and Best Start Family Hubs, stays as it is. Targeted early help for families with multiple or complex needs is now part of Family Help, together with child in need support under section 17. Some areas still use the name early help while they make the change. **What is a family help worker?** Usually this means the family's lead practitioner. Working Together 2026 says the lead practitioner coordinates support and services, makes sure the assessment and Family Help plan respond to the family's needs, and helps the family write the plan. The role can be held by a social worker, other local authority staff, including in a Best Start Family Hub, or staff in partner organisations such as schools. Local job titles vary. **Is there any help for struggling families?** Yes. Families can get support from universal services such as their school, GP and health visitor, and from Best Start Family Hubs, which GOV.UK describes as a single place for support such as parent classes, counselling and financial advice. GOV.UK has a tool to find a family hub in your area. Where needs are more complex, the school or another practitioner can, with the family's agreement, ask for a Family Help assessment. **Is early help social services?** Not in the sense most people mean. Universal and community-based early help comes from everyday services such as schools, health and family hubs. Targeted early help is now part of Family Help, which is coordinated by the local authority and its partners and can be led by a social worker or another practitioner. It is voluntary and needs the family's consent, unlike child protection enquiries under section 47. **Is early help voluntary?** Yes. Working Together 2026 says Family Help, which includes targeted early help, is a voluntary approach that needs the family's consent. If a family says no, practitioners should try to understand why. If there is a concern about significant harm, a referral to children's social care should be made straight away, consent or not. **What is family help in KCSIE 2026?** KCSIE 2026 uses the Working Together definition. Family Help means both targeted early help and support and services under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. KCSIE asks all staff to be ready to identify children who may benefit from Family Help, and to know the local criteria for referring to it. **Can a school be the lead practitioner?** Yes. Working Together 2026 says the lead practitioner role can be held by a range of people, including staff in partner organisations. KCSIE 2026 says school staff may act as lead practitioner, and that lead practitioners who are not social workers can continue to lead work with families up to and including section 17. ## Sources - [Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, chapter 3, paragraphs 120 to 150, 163 and 251 (DfE, March 2026)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69fb1c28d0e316a40f269a5b/Working_together_to_safeguard_children_2026_a_guide_to_multi_agency_working.pdf) - [Keeping children safe in education 2026, Part one, paragraphs 6, 13, 18, 60 and 64, and Part five, paragraphs 585 to 587 (DfE, in force from 1 September 2026)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ac3c09c11ed58342ad8e4ac/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2026.pdf) - [Families First Partnership programme guide, year 2 (DfE, March 2026)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69de5281b0b0b93055e04f92/Families_first_partnership_programme_guide_year_2.pdf) - [Families First Partnership programme (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/families-first-partnership-programme) - [Find out if there's a family hub in your local area (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/find-family-hub-local-area) ## Related - [Child in need and child protection](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/cin) - [How to make a safeguarding referral](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/guides/how-to-make-a-safeguarding-referral) - [Pastoral jobs](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/jobs/role/pastoral): Pastoral, inclusion and family support roles in schools in England. - [Safeguarding chronology template](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/tools/safeguarding-chronology-template): Keep the history in one place as a family moves between levels of help. ## In Pupil Protect Pupil Protect Safeguard builds plans around outcomes for the child, each with actions, owners from school and other agencies, and due dates. Overdue actions show up on the DSL's dashboard. [See how Safeguard works](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/safeguard)