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Lewisham Safeguarding Children Partnership

If you are worried about the welfare or safety of a child or young person

Email: mashagency@lewisham.gov.uk

Tel: 020 8314 6660

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Early Help & MASH

Information for professionals about assessing family and children's needs (early help assessment)

This information is for professionals working with families to complete an early help assessment (EHA).

About early help assessments

Professionals working with families can use an EHA to identify strengths and difficulties that they may be experiencing, and set strategies to minimise any negative impact on the child.

The EHA replaces the common assessment framework (CAF) for assessing children’s needs with parents and families.

Agencies should work together on an assessment to plan support for families and reduce the chance of concerns escalating to a point where statutory intervention is needed.

There is also an opportunity to capture the voice of the child and make sure that they are involved in the assessment, if appropriate.

How to complete an early help assessment

First of all, refer to our Continuum of Need - Threshold for Intervention web page for information on how to identify difficulties and set interventions.

Then follow this step-by-step process:

  1. Gather and record information.

  2. Think about how this information impacts on the child and family.

  3. Plan a course of action.

When you’ve completed it, give the family concerned a copy of the early help assessment.

Logging early help assessments

If you complete an EHA at Level 2 of our continuum of need, you should log it with the lead professional’s agency.

EHAs that were allocated by the early help panel will be logged in the children’s social care system.  

After you complete an EHA

After you meet with the family and complete an EHA, you should hold a team around the family meeting within six weeks.

Find out more

Contact us for support and advice about completing the EHA on 020 8314 6660, email mashagency@lewisham.gov.uk

Getting consent

If you are making a referral for assessment, you must get consent for the assessment to take place.

It is your duty to fully explain consent to the family you are working with and give them the option to consent fully or to particular areas. They must give consent for the lead professional to consult with:

  • parents

  • carers

  • children and young people in the family

  • other family members

  • appropriate friends

  • any professionals involved with the family.

Each of these people will hold different pieces of information which will contribute to the whole assessment.

Explain to families that they will get better support if they consent to having their information shared with other services and professionals. Reassure them that all data will be stored securely.

Find out more about getting consent.

For more information regarding the use of your personal data, you can view our privacy policy.

Documents

Continuum of Need - Threshold for Intervention

Early Help Assessment Form 12 2021

Team Around the Family Meeting and Monitoring Form 12 2021

Family Thrive Families Pamphlet 

Family Thrive Professionals Pamphlet

Lewisham Early Help Practice Guide - A multi-agency guide to early help

Further information and resources can be found on the Lewisham Council website Early Help pages

What is the MASH?

​If someone is concerned about the safety and welfare of a child, they can contact the MASH, which is a partnership of agencies with a duty to keep children safe.
Urgent child protection referrals

Contact the MASH on 020 8314 6660 and ask to speak with a duty social worker. If you think a child or young person may be in immediate danger, call 999 or contact your local police on 101.

What is the MASH?

The Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) provides a single point of access to the services that help keep children safe. It is a multi-agency team made up of representatives from a range of services that provide advice, support and protection as needed. These services include:

  • children’s social care

  • Lewisham police

  • health services 

  • child and adolescent mental health services

  • early help

  • housing 

  • probation 

  • substance misuse

  • victim support.

The MASH provides a secure environment for these services to share information and improve decision-making whenever there are concerns for a child.

What does the MASH do?

If you are concerned about a child who has additional needs that are not being met by services currently involved with the family, the MASH will respond to requests for advice and support. The MASH also responds to child protection concerns for children at risk of significant harm.

Further information is available on requesting help from the MASH, and for families whose children have been referred to the MASH.

How does it work? 

When the MASH receives a referral, the agencies within the team can share information they have on the family with a social worker, who will use this to decide what help the child and family need and whether the child is at risk of harm. The MASH ensures that all referrals are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner and that information is shared within a secure environment.

By sharing information as soon as possible, the team can get a better understanding of what difficulties the family may be facing. This way, we can make sure the family receives the right kind of help and support at the right time.

Parental consent

The MASH is a consent-based model. Professionals dealing with suspected child neglect, abuse or need for support, will endeavour to work in partnership with parents. This means the professional will:

  • be open and honest with parents about the concerns they have about a child or children

  • explain to parents, before making a referral, how the MASH team will share information about the child and family to get the best possible picture about the child’s circumstances.

If the referring professional believes that seeking consent for sharing information with the MASH would place a child at further risk of harm or cause unnecessary delay, they may refer the child without parental consent, but must explain why this is the case. If in doubt please contact the MASH on 020 8314 6660 to discuss.

Further information and advice from the Lewisham MASH can be found on the Lewisham Council MASH website pages 

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