Since 1 September, families contacting the service, or referred by a professional such as a teacher, GP or health visitor, have experienced a simpler approach.
Instead of navigating multiple services and repeating the same information, families receive one assessment, one family plan and a dedicated practitioner to coordinate support. This means families should only need to tell their story once.
Family Help supports families facing a range of challenges, including school attendance, emotional wellbeing, parenting, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and wider issues affecting family life.
The service is part of Suffolk’s wider Families First transformation programme, which is bringing services and safeguarding partners closer together around children and families.
Alongside Family Help, Suffolk is testing a new Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, bringing together professionals from children's social care, police, health and education. The model aims to strengthen information sharing, improve decision-making and provide a more coordinated response when children are at risk of significant harm. This trial will run for 12 weeks and if successful will be rolled out across the county from March 2027.
Councillor Simon Aalders, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“Giving children the best possible start in life is one of this administration’s key priorities. Too often, families have had to navigate a complex system or wait until problems reach crisis point before receiving help. Family Help is about changing that.
“Families tell us they want support to be easier to access and better connected. Family Help means they won’t have to knock on multiple doors or repeat their story over and over again. Instead, they’ll have one coordinated plan and the right people working together around them from the start.
“This is exactly what our Right Start in Life priority is about: providing the right support at the right time, protecting vulnerable children and ensuring every young person has the opportunity to thrive.
“A key part of this new initiative is the ‘Test and Learn’ approach to multi-agency safeguarding. This scheme draws together the learning from tragic cases of child deaths across the UK and ensures that the learning from these cases is fully embedded in our county-wide approach.
“By investing in prevention and supporting families before issues escalate, we can strengthen families, build stronger communities and deliver better outcomes for Suffolk’s children for years to come.”
When a family gets in touch, practitioners work with them to understand their circumstances, identify what support may help and agree a plan tailored to their needs.
By bringing services together, Family Help makes it easier for families to get the right support at the right time, helping children stay safe, healthy and achieve their full potential.
