Adolescent Early Help Assessment

What is an Adolescent Early Help Assessment?

If you are working with a young person in year 11 or 12 who is either not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of this, you can get support via the Early Help Assessment process.

How is an Adolescent Early Help Assessment different?

If a young person is not in education, employment, or training (NEET) or at risk of being NEET, and has unmet needs affecting their engagement, an early help assessment may help. It lets them look at barriers to education, training, or employment.

If accepted by the family support team, they get a young person's worker. This role focuses on getting young people back on track with education/training and addressing obstacles. The key points are that an assessment can identify needs and barriers for at-risk NEET youth to connect them with tailored support through a young person's worker.

What support can an Early Help Assessment offer young people?

• A Young Person's Worker is assigned as the contact throughout the assessment.
• The worker meets the young person where they feel comfortable to discuss worries, interests, and needed support.
• The worker provides individualised support like help with anxiety, emotions, relationships, options, confidence building and building self esteem. They can connect the young person to other services as needed.
• The worker involves family and friends to support the young person's path to education, employment or training.
• Once the young person is re-engaged in a pathway and has a plan, the assessment ends, but Suffolk County Council will track progress through year 12 in case further support is needed.

About the Family Support teams

Young Person’s Workers (YPW)

Suffolk County Council have a statutory duty to track young people’s post 16 education and employment, this is done by Young People Workers and Young Persons Coaches.

They:

• engage and intervene with young people in year 11 and 12 to support access to education, employment and training opportunities.
• consult with schools and colleges to identify young people at risk of not being in education, employment, training (NEET).
• negotiate with partners to develop new opportunities for young people who are NEET.
• work with those in year 12 who are NEET and closest to the jobs market.

Young person’s Coach (YPC)

If you are looking for support for a young person who is ready to start study, training or employment we can offer guidance and/or support with a Young Person Coach, you would not need to complete a Family Assessment.

YPCs work with young people who are NEET, offering support to identify goals and find opportunities. They also offer support with wellbeing, explore funding opportunities and resources, and guide young people whilst they start their placement, to ensure it is sustainable.

The Family Support Teams will make the decision to see if a young person is open to a Young Person's Coach or if they should be allocated to a young person worker via an Early Help Assessment.