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The Right Help at the Right Time

The Swindon Safeguarding Partnership is responsible for publishing a ‘thresholds document’ setting out levels of need and access to Children’s Social Care.

The right help at the right time guidance is a guide to assessing levels of need and identifying the most appropriate support for children, young people and their families.

Referral form - Request for help and support.

Swindon Safeguarding Partnership has developed this guidance in order to encourage an approach to working with children and their families that ensures they receive the right support at the right time and for the right duration. 

The guidance looks to help professionals to assess a child’s level of need and identify which if any additional services are required. It is not a rigid set of procedures as each child is unique and their needs will change over time. Professionals can seek further advice from their agency safeguarding lead or Contact Swindon.

Professionals must ensure there is no delay in offering support that can help to prevent problems escalating. If a child is at imminent and significant risk of harm contact the emergency services on 999 in the first instance and then make contact with Contact Swindon. Prompt action is required in order to avoid delay in protecting children and to facilitate the gathering of evidence where a crime may have been committed.

Additional information on early help conversations and plans, and the associated forms, can found on the Local Offer website.

Do you have a question about the SSP Right Help at the Right Time Guidance? 

If you have a question that is not covered in the above resources, you can send your question to us and we will aim to respond to your query within four working days. 

Give your feedback about the SSP Right Help at the Right Time Guidance 

We would really like to hear your comments and feedback on the SSP Multi-agency Threshold Guidance. You can use the form below – it will take around 5 minutes to complete:  

Right Help at the Right Time Guidance online form

Graphic showing four levels of support.

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