The Early Help Access Point

Allowing you to have access to help and support for you and your family.

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What do I do if I want help?

Tameside is committed to supporting children and young people at the earliest point that help maybe required.

All children and young people will receive Universal Services such as School and Health Services, however, some children, either because of their needs or circumstances will require extra support to be healthy and safe and to achieve their potential. In Tameside we have recognised that a timely response is essential for families who need some support and to achieve this we have developed our Early Help Offer.

Early Help may be needed at any point in a child or young person’s life and we seek to offer support quickly to reduce the impact of problems that may have already emerged. Families are best supported by those who already work with them organising additional support with local partners as needed.

For children whose needs and circumstances make them more vulnerable, a coordinated approach is usually best, based on an Early Help Assessment, with a Lead Practitioner to work closely with you and your family to ensure that you receive all the support you require. A range of services are available to help you with the problems you may have.

The Early Help Access Point can help you access services including services for adults. Many adults have additional needs because of issues with substance misuse, mental health needs, parental learning disabilities and domestic violence which can impact on their health, wellbeing and family life. Services which work with either children and young people or adults need to co-ordinate the support they provide to you and your family. If you need to request a service on behalf of yourself and your family or need advice please make sure you contact us.

The Early Help Access Point can provide you with advice and guidance about lots of child related subjects including:

• General advice is available from the Family Information Service covering many subjects including child care provision, childminders and free child related activities, impartial advice on all aspects of childcare including choosing care, providing listings of Ofsted registered childcare in your area, advice on how care is regulated and the best options for you and your child. We can also provide extra help and support if you have never used childcare before or are finding it difficult to access childcare to suit your needs. We offer information about the Free Entitlement Funding (FEF) - free 15 hours childcare places for all 2, 3 & 4 year olds including support with completing an application form to apply for the free 2 year old funding. We can offer information regarding the ’30 hours free childcare’ for 3 & 4 year olds including advice on how to apply via HMRC, criteria, etc. We can inform you about activities and groups for families including pre-school playgroups, toddler groups & Children’s Centre activities. We can signpost you to services both local and national organisations including information relating to SEND.
• Early Help Assessment (EHA Advisors are available to speak to you).
• The Team Around Approach - (Neighbourhood Coordinators are available to speak to you).
• If your family needs help from a keyworker, with your permission your family will be discussed at a panel which is attended by professionals from other support services. You will be notified if a keyworker is allocated. Please watch this video for more information.
• If your child has been harmed or is at risk of harm, Tameside Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub will be informed. 

How do I request help and support?

Please ring our Early Help Access Point and speak to our friendly and helpful staff who will listen to you and take some details and where necessary gain your consent to share information if it’s appropriate to do so. Self-referrals can be made by contacting The Early Help Access Point on 0161 342 4260. It’s ok to ask for help.

We are currently based at 
Tameside One
Market Place
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL6 6BH

Here is a family trifold pamphlet which informs you about consent, GDPR, help and support. We welcome you to ring us if you need any more information or if you have any questions.

Please click below to find a list of other helpful support agencies, this is a summarised list and not a full directory.