Introducing the Consultation Advice Line and Team Around The Family!

Family First is changing the way services are delivered to children and families in East
Sussex.

This means families getting help earlier, before difficulties become baked in.

What is the Consultation Advice Line?

The Consultation Advice Line is for early help and professional guidance, offering support with concerns at an early stage before they escalate – providing advice, reassurance and help with assessments and planning when more support is needed.

How is this different from SPoA?

SPoA is for raising safeguarding referrals when you are worried about a child’s welfare, believe they may be at risk of harm or think they are in immediate danger.

For safeguarding issues, please continue to use SPoA.

How the Consultation Advice Line supports professionals

We have already launched a Consultation Advice Line – 01323 464655 – giving all professionals in education, health, the voluntary and community sector, and the police access to expert guidance from our highly skilled Senior Keyworkers .

Families can get help on that number too.

If it becomes clear that a family needs more joined-up support, this is when a Team Around the Family Coordinator can get involved to link the right people together.

The good news is we’re already starting to receive calls and actively supporting
professionals in getting help to families earlier.

We’re here to help you, help families

You might call to talk something through or get some reassurance that you’re on the right track with the advice you’re offering, but your conversation could also reveal that a family needs support from other professionals.

For instance, a child who is absent from school may come from a home where there are mental health issues, unemployment and serious financial challenges that are contributing to the stresses and strains leading to their non-attendance.

These multiple challenges could prompt a referral, via the Consultation Advice Line, to a Team Around the Family (TAF) Coordinator. TAF Coordinators work alongside you. They can help you make an assessment and create a plan which could include support from professionals in health, education, the voluntary sector and the police, as well as the extended family and friend network. As the person who sees the child or family most regularly, you may be best placed to be the lead professional (Family First Adviser). This doesn’t mean taking on more work, as you’ll have the full support of the TAF Coordinator. They will bring the right professionals together and manage the wider support around the plan, giving you more time to be available for the family.

Meet the Team Around the Family

The Team Around the Family (TAF) offers a holistic approach, wholly focussed on how to make life better for children and their families. It’s headed up by two highly experienced Senior TAF Coordinators: Lucy Dean, (West) on the left, and Samantha Mills (East). They lead a team of
TAF Coordinators, and they are ready to support you.

Get in touch

Call the Consultation Advice Line on 01323 464655.

Monday to Thursday: 8:30am – 5:00pm

Friday: 8:30am – 4:30pm

To request a Consultation Advice Referral Form please email:

CS.ConsultationAdviceLine@eastsussex.gov.uk or visit Consultation Advice Line for Professionals | Family Hubs

The advice line is also available to families, so please share this number with parents
and carers.

A quick reminder why transforming services is vital

Family First has been designed to transform the way services which support children and families are delivered.

Too many families in East Sussex face challenges alone, from financial hardship and mental health difficulties to isolation and a lack of wider family support. This makes it harder for parents to care for their children and for young people to feel safe, happy and able to thrive.

Families also struggle to know what services are available in the community or how to navigate them. This either leaves professionals overstretched as they take on extra work, or results in families missing out on the support they need altogether.

When all professionals work in a more joined-up way around the family, we can provide a better service for vulnerable children and free up capacity across services.

The current system is unsustainable

ESCC has one of the highest numbers of child protection plans in the region and a higher rate of children in care. More children and families are entering the statutory system because they have not received the right support early enough. This approach is costly and unsustainable.

The reality is change is not just necessary – it’s vital.

The government has set out its Plan for Change.

Both the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and the Department for Education’s Families First Partnership Programme aim to improve support for children and families across England.

The plan demands that children live safely, and child poverty is addressed to give every young person the necessary foundations for the best start in life.

In East Sussex, with our Family First programme, we’re tackling the need for earlier help first.

To find out more:

We will be sending out further briefings, but please take a look at:

• Family First Programme | East Sussex County Council
• Consultation Advice Line for Professionals | Family Hubs

Or for further queries, you can email us at:

CS.ConsultationAdviceLine@eastsussex.gov.uk