Early Help Partnership

We are here to support children, young people and families experiencing challenges that may put them under pressure. This might include:

We know families can find it difficult to ask for help, to understand where to go, and what services are relevant for them. When they do find a service which can help them, they can end up waiting for services and being passed to different agencies, increasing worries and anxiety. This is not a good experience for anyone, and families are telling us they are fed up.

Local professionals are also unclear about what services are available, making it difficult for them to signpost families to the right support.

We have developed our early help partnership to make sure we put children and their families at the centre of what we do.

We know children and young people can overcome difficulties and problems if they can get the right information, advice and support at the right time. The early help partnership can help people access support from a range of sources across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

We have a collaborative approach to early help. Local agencies work with families to identify who is best placed to offer support. This could be in the community, at home, in schools or nurseries, in health services or other local spaces.

We want to:

We have five areas for development:

1. A new approach to assessment – using a common language and documentation, and clear guidance about what intervention is needed, and when.
2. Developing our workforce – supporting all people with our early help partnership with some specific themed early help training programmes.
3. Measuring impact – developing clear measures so we can understand how we are improving the experience for our children, young people and families.
4. Clear governance – making sure as a partnership we are shaping and implementing change together, and that we report into and are accountable to senior leaders across the BCP area.
5. Transforming our family hubs – improving and developing our services from the hubs and in the local area.

People providing this support put children and young people at the heart of what they do, making sure they are safe and protected. By working flexibly, across different agencies, they can provide effective and targeted services and have a shared responsibility for the good outcomes of our children and young people.

To help to understand the difference we are making, we have a shared outcomes framework which helps to measure our impact. This will also help partners develop their own priorities and services. These outcome measures are:

These outcomes link with the national supporting families’ outcomes framework.

We have a strong partnership with statutory and voluntary organisations across the area. We have the same goal: to help meet the needs of our children, young people, and families. This might be as simple as offering support, advice, and information, or more intensive support for families with more complex needs. Whatever the need, partners will work together to ensure seamless and integrated services, where there is no wrong front door, and people only need to share their information once.

Our partners include:

Family hubs can be found in communities across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. We’re also online, so if you can’t come to us, you can find lots of great advice and information to help on our website.

We’re here for everyone, providing help and guidance for every parent, carer or grandparent who needs support, advice, or just time to check in with other people and professionals in a safe space.

We team up with all sorts of organisations and groups to make sure you can get what you need from one place. You only need to ask for help once, and we’ll make sure you get to the right person to make sure you have the right support for you.

We can offer support and advice in the following areas:

Boscombe

22 Ashley Road, BH1 4PE
Telephone: 01202 096699
Email: boscombefamilyhub@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Christchurch

Draper Road, BH23 3AS
Telephone: 01202 093500
Email: christchurchfamilyhub@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Kinson and West Howe

Moore Avenue, BH11 8AU
Telephone: 01202 096700
Email: kinsonandwesthowefamilyhub@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Poole Old Town

Green Road, BH15 1QB
Telephone: 01202 817772
Email: oldtownfamilyhub@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Rossmore

Herbert Avenue, BH12 4HR
Telephone: 01202 817772
Email: rossmorefamilyhub@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Townsend

Jewell Road, BH8 0LT
Telephone: 01202 720472
Email: townsendfamilyhub@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Turlin Moor

Turlin Road, BH16 5AH
Telephone: 01202 817770
Email: turlinmoorfamilyhub@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

BCP Council Family Information Services

Telephone: 01202 093131
Email: familyinformation@bcpcouncil.gov.uk