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Most of the time, my life feels okay, but there are things that I wish were better. Recently, things have become more difficult for my family and it’s starting to affect how settled and supported I feel. My parents care about me deeply, but they sometimes struggle to make consistent decisions that keep me healthy and emotionally secure.
We know that changes need to happen in our home and routines, but we’re not able to do this on our own right now. Sometimes our home doesn’t feel as warm or comfortable as it used to and we don’t always have access to the healthy meals we need, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.
There are days when things feel uncertain and that makes it harder for me to focus on my hopes for the future. We’ve started to reach out for help from professionals who understand what families go through and can support us in building a more stable environment. With the right guidance, my family is able to make better choices, improve our well-being, and create a home where I can feel secure, eat well, and grow with confidence."
A Lead Professional (LP) is a trusted named practitioner, who has been identified as the person who will be the family’s main point of contract throughout the early help process.
A Lead Practitioner should undertake an holistic whole family assessment, a Community Based Early Help Assessment, provide help to the child and family, act as an advocate on their behalf and co-ordinate the delivery of support services.
The Lead Practitioner isn’t responsible for all the work, however, needs to take responsibility to be the front facing person for the family so that they can have a single point of contact to discuss their Early Help Assessment and Plan.
A GP, family support worker, school nurse, teacher, housing officer, health visitor and/ or special educational needs co-ordinator could undertake the lead practitioner role. Decisions about who should be the lead practitioner should be taken on a family-by-family basis and should be informed by the child and their family.
Our Lead Practitioner Toolkit has further information about who should could carry out assessments and why.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 states that Lead Practitioners within our partnerships are ‘uniquely placed to identify concerns and address them early’.
If there is an assessment in place, contact the Lead Professional and discuss your concerns.
If no assessment has been registered, you should discuss the needs with the child and their family and gain their consent to start an assessment.
Please see our Lead Practitioner Toolkit page for details on responsibilities as well as the tools/resources which will support you.