For families

This section of the website has been written mainly for people working with families or managing services, but it is also of general interest. There's background information on the ethos of Early Support and on the importance of partnership working with parents. It outlines what is being asked of local services and can help if Early Support is not being used in your area and you want to help bring about change.

What does 'partnership working with parents' really mean?

Partnership with parents lies at the heart of Early Support. You might like to start with Partnership working with parents or Parents as partners.

Want to know how families can be involved in service change?

See how local services can involve parents as service users in planning for change and see what the Government has to say about it.

Want to know about the 'Early Support way of doing things'?

Flexible delivery explains the ethos that underpins Early Support. There are case studies on these pages describing families' experiences - good and bad.

Flexible delivery also has to do with supporting families who don't speak English and families who want different things from the materials.

’If it hadn’t been for my key worker, my child would have been in care. If I hadn’t had that support early on, someone to lead me through the maze, I'd have been lost ... not knowing where to go.'

Parent

Need to know about key workers or lead professionals?

This page explains what key workers are and what they can offer to families with young disabled children. If you’d like to see how having a key worker helps families, start here.

Read about the Government’s expectation that every local authority should offer a key worker service for families with disabled children.

Watch a video about what families say about the importance of key workers.

Want to know what Early Support is asking local services to do?

Implementing service change helps practitioners and services to introduce and use Early Support. A glance at these pages shows what is involved in developing services that make more sense to the families who use them.

Want to meet other families and learn more?

Parents Workshops are available for families who want to learn more about services, including Early Support, and share experiences.

Want to see what’s happening in your area?

See this page to find out.