This week is ‘Early Help Practice Week 2023’, to highlight the work that different organisations can do to support families. Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Services, Cllr Liz Parsons, explains why it is an area of work that the Council and its partners are very much focused on.
There’s no doubt that being a parent and carer, as well as being extremely rewarding, can also be a real challenge.
Juggling work and a family can be extremely stressful, especially when combined with other pressures such as the cost-of-living.
For a whole variety of reasons, families can find themselves in a position where challenges are impacting on the health and wellbeing of their children.
When families are experiencing difficulties, it is important they get the right support at the right time from services that work well together.
Intervening early is absolutely crucial to make sure that, together, we achieve the best outcomes for our children.
In Liverpool, we are proud of our Early Help services – Ofsted described them as ‘effective’ earlier this year.
Many hundreds of families are supported every single year, with issues such as parenting and school attendance.
Each family have a dedicated worker who can help develop solutions that work for them, building on their strengths.
We also work closely with our schools, as they know their children and their families extremely well – often teachers are best placed to spot when something is wrong at home.
It is vital we make sure our children get the possible start in life, and it makes far more sense to support families early – rather than letting issues become a crisis.
That is why, for Early Help Practice Week, we are bringing together partners for virtual learning sessions as well as a face-to-face event to celebrate good practice and those professionals who have been awarded our Early Help Practitioner Award.
Early help is the responsibility of everyone who works with children and families and, in Liverpool, we are determined to recognise and celebrate this.
