Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any stage in a child's life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years.
In Redcar and Cleveland, we will work together to ensure that children, young people, and their families receive the right help as early as possible to support them to thrive and fulfil their dreams.
In order to do this, we have worked with our partners to develop a multi-agency Early Help Strategy for 2021-25. This sets out our collective principles and priorities for supporting our children and families.
The full Early Help Strategy is available to download below:
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In Redcar and Cleveland there are different options for supporting children, young people and families depending on the presenting needs and the levels of concern.
Those who know the children and families well are often best placed to start supporting the family, but no practitioner can know/do everything to help a family on their own.
If you are worried about a child or young person, and feel they are at risk of being abused, neglected or at risk of being harmed, please contact:
Redcar & Cleveland Multi-Agency Children's Hub (MACH)
Telephone - 01642 130680
Email - RedcarMACH@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk
For support and advice about referring a family for early help services, please contact the Early Help Coordinators in Redcar and Cleveland Multi Agency Children's Hub (MACH) on 01642 130678.
An Early help referral form can be downloaded below:
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Once a referral has been received, this will be considered by the Redcar and Cleveland MACH Manager and if they feel it is appropriate for early help support, it will then be forwarded to the Early Help Coordinator Team to consider which Local Authority or partner service would be best placed to meet the child and family's needs.
The Early Help Coordinator will contact the family and the referrer to discuss the worries and gain more information wherever possible.
If you are a parent who would like to talk to someone about Early Help Support, please ring 01642 130680.