Extra Help assessment and plans: questions and answers

If you need support to complete the assessment you can call Cheshire East Together for Families Advice and Information Line.

The Extra Help Assessment and Plan should be used when a child, young person or family has emerging or additional needs that would benefit from coordinated support, but does not require a Family Help (Targeted or Child in Need) response.

The Extra Help Plan records the actions, support and outcomes agreed with the family and should focus on practical early intervention and preventing needs from escalating. The assessment and plan are designed to be proportionate, strengths-based and family-led.

Extra Help is generally appropriate where:

• needs can be supported through coordinated early intervention
• a child or family would benefit from support from more than one service
• risks are emerging but do not require a Family Help, Child in Need or Child Protection response
• professionals want to work alongside the family to prevent needs from becoming more complex

The Extra Help Assessment and Plan (Word 131KB) is the single assessment and planning framework used for:

• Family Help
• Child in Need
• Child Protection

It provides a comprehensive assessment of a child's lived experience, strengths, needs, family relationships, risks, protective factors and support networks.

Unlike the Extra Help Assessment, the Our Family Assessment is intended to evolve as needs change. It follows the child and family through Family Help, and Child Protection pathways so that information does not need to be repeatedly collected and families do not have to continually retell their story. This supports the Families First principle of one assessment, one plan and one coordinated system around the family.

Our Family is generally appropriate where:

• needs are more complex
• multiple agencies need to work together in a coordinated way
• there are significant welfare concerns
• the child meets criteria for Family Help
• Child Protection processes are underway
• greater management oversight and multi-agency coordination are needed

Yes. If a child's needs increase and a Family Help response is required, information gathered through the Extra Help Assessment should inform future assessment and planning.

The aim is to reduce duplication and ensure assessments build on previous work wherever possible. Children and families should experience a smooth transition between levels of support, with practitioners using existing information rather than asking families to repeatedly provide the same information. 

Extra Help is a voluntary process that relies on agreement and participation from children, young people and families.

Consent is not simply a signature on a form. Children, young people and families should understand:

• Why the assessment is being completed.
• What information will be recorded.
• Who information may be shared with.
• What support may be offered.
• Their opportunity to ask questions.

Good practice

Before completing the assessment, explain:

"I'd like us to complete an Extra Help Assessment together so we can understand what support might help. We'll talk about what is going well, what your concerns are and what changes you'd like to see. I'll explain how the information is recorded and who may need to see it."

Consent discussions and decisions should always be recorded. 

Practitioners should seek to understand the reasons for hesitation and discuss any concerns. If consent is not provided:

• Record discussions.
• Consider alternative forms of support.
• Continue to provide support that can be offered without a coordinated assessment.

If concerns about a child's safety increase, practitioners should consider seeking safeguarding advice from Cheshire East Together for Families.

All sections should be considered. However, the aim is not to complete boxes for the sake of completing boxes. The assessment should provide a meaningful understanding of:

• The child's lived experience.
• Family strengths.
• Worries and concerns.
• Protective factors.
• Support networks.
• What needs to change. 

If information is unknown or not applicable, this should be recorded appropriately.

Less is often more. Practitioners should focus on:

• What is happening?
• Why is it happening?
• What impact is it having on the child?
• What support is needed?

Avoid lengthy histories unless they help explain the child's current situation.

This section should clearly explain any concerns, what support has been tried, and to what degree it helped. It can be helpful to explore why previous activities haven’t brought about the intended improvements in the child’s daily lived experience. You should also explore what support is available within the professional network (GP’s, Health Visitors, Community) but also the family network. 

The child's voice should be visible throughout the assessment, not just within the dedicated "Child's Views" section.

Practitioners should consider:

• What the child says.
• What the child shows through behaviour.
• What the child experiences daily.
• What matters to the child.
• What the child thinks needs to change. 

For very young children, unborn children or children with communication needs, observations and alternative communication methods should be used.

The child's lived experience is more than a description of services or parental difficulties. It is the observation and exploration of what life feels like on every day, what matters to the child and how it affects them. It can be about who they feel safe with and trust, and where they go when they need help. 

The assessment should help readers understand life from the child's perspective.

Strengths should be identified throughout the assessment. This can include positive and supportive relationship, existing networks of support in the community, faith groups or family. What has historically and currently worked for the child and family. Achievements already made and where there is still a need for support.

The assessment should provide a balanced picture, not simply a list of concerns.

The assessment should identify:

• Important family members.
• Friends.
• Trusted adults.
• Community supports.
• Other protective relationships.

Practitioners should explore:

• Who helps the family now?
• Who could provide support in the future?
• What strengths already exist within the family's network? 

Family networks can be an important part of building sustainable support.

A good plan is:

• Clear
• Specific
• Outcome-focused
• Owned by the family
• Realistic

Actions should answer:

• What needs to happen?
• Who will do it?
• By when?
• How will we know it has worked? 

Most actions should focus on what families and their support networks will do, not just professionals.

Reviews should be based on the child's needs and circumstances.

The purpose of the review is to understand:

• What has improved.
• What remains difficult.
• Whether outcomes are being achieved.
• Whether support needs to change. 

Reviews can be more frequent where concerns increase or circumstances change.

Practitioners should consider if the right issues are being addressed in the plan. If families do not feel like the plan reflects their identity and needs, it may be less effective. Professionals should revisit the plan and explore if the right agencies are involved, if views have changes, and if additional support may be needed. 

Where concerns are increasing or needs are becoming more complex, practitioners should consider whether advice or referral to Cheshire East Together for Families is required.

Managers should provide:

• Supervision.
• Reflective discussion.
• Guidance on professional judgement.
• Support with assessment and planning.
• Help resolving professional disagreements.
• Oversight of progress and outcomes.

Managers should support practitioners to focus on children's lived experiences, strengths, family networks and meaningful outcomes rather than simply completing forms.

Top Five Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Completing the assessment about the family rather than with the family.
2. Focusing only on problems and not identifying strengths.
3. Recording information without analysing its impact on the child.
4. Creating actions for professionals but none for families or networks.
5. Treating the assessment as a form-filling exercise rather than a conversation that helps children and families access the right support.

Working relationally means building a relationship before focusing on paperwork.

Try to:

• Listen with curiosity.
• Understand the family's experience.
• Build trust.
• Recognise strengths as well as difficulties.
• Work alongside families rather than doing things to them.

Families are more likely to engage when they feel respected, listened to and involved.

Helpful questions:

• "Tell me a little about your family."
• "What is going well at the moment?"
• "What would you like me to understand?"
• "What would you like to be different in six months' time?" 

A Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting is a coordinated planning and review meeting used to support children, young people and families receiving Extra Help.

The purpose of the meeting is to bring together the people who can help the child and family achieve the goals identified in the Extra Help Assessment and Plan. A TAF is more than a meeting of professionals; it should involve the people who matter to the family and who can contribute to positive change. The Family Help procedures describe the TAF as the team of people helping the child and family, including family members, friends and community support where appropriate. 

A TAF meeting should be considered where:

• An Extra Help Assessment has identified additional or emerging needs.
• More than one service is involved.
• A coordinated plan is needed.
• The family would benefit from support from different people working together.
• Progress needs to be reviewed and next steps agreed. 

The TAF provides a structured way of coordinating support around the child and family and helps ensure everyone is working towards the same outcomes. 

The child and family should be central to the meeting wherever possible.

Attendance may include:

• Parents and carers.
• Children and young people (where appropriate).
• The Lead Practitioner.
• Professionals involved with the family.
• Family members identified by the family.
• Friends, neighbours or trusted adults.
• Community organisations or support networks. 

The family should help identify who needs to be involved.

TAF meetings should be arranged according to the needs of the child and family.

As a guide, meetings should take place frequently enough to:

• Review progress.
• Update the Extra Help Plan.
• Respond to changing circumstances.
• Maintain coordinated support.

Where concerns increase or circumstances change, additional meetings may be required.

The meeting should focus on the child, family and agreed outcomes rather than individual services.

Discussions should consider:

What is working well?

• Strengths within the family.
• Progress that has been made.
• Existing support from family, friends and professionals.

What are we worried about?

• Any ongoing concerns.
• New or emerging needs.
• Barriers preventing progress.

What needs to happen next?

• Agreed actions.
• Who will do what.
• Timescales.
• Review arrangements. 

The purpose is to identify solutions, maintain momentum and support positive outcomes for children and families. 

Good TAF meetings are:

• Child-centred
• Family-led
• Strengths-based
• Solution-focused
• Outcome-focused
• Inclusive of family and support networks
• Clear about actions and responsibilities

Meetings should help families feel involved, respected and listened to.

A useful reflective question for practitioners is:

"Would the family describe this as their meeting or the professionals' meeting?"

If families feel they are passive observers rather than active participants, practitioners should consider how the meeting could be more inclusive and collaborative. 

The Lead Practitioner is responsible for coordinating the Extra Help Plan and supporting the TAF process.

This includes:

• Arranging meetings.
• Ensuring the child and family are involved.
• Updating the plan.
• Coordinating contributions from professionals.
• Tracking progress against agreed outcomes.
• Ensuring actions are completed and reviewed.

The Lead Practitioner should help maintain a focus on the child's lived experience and the goals that matter most to the family.

Recording the Meeting

Following each TAF meeting the Lead Practitioner should:

• Update the Extra Help Plan.
• Record progress made.
• Clearly document agreed actions.
• Record who is responsible for each action.
• Agree timescales and review arrangements.
• Share updates with participants as appropriate.

The plan should remain a live document that reflects the child's and family's current circumstances.

Top Tips for Practitioners:

• Prepare the family before the meeting.
• Use clear, accessible language.
• Focus on strengths as well as worries.
• Involve family and community networks.
• Keep discussions focused on outcomes.
• Review what has improved since the last meeting.
• Ensure everyone leaves knowing what happens next.

A successful TAF meeting should leave everyone with a clear understanding of:

• What is going well.
• What still needs attention.
• What actions have been agreed.
• Who is responsible for each action.
• When progress will be reviewed. 

Most importantly, the child and family should feel that support is being coordinated with them, not for them.