Thresholds

Please note that we are in the process of updating the ‘Threshold’ documents as part of the multi-agency Family Help – The Right Support at the Right Time review.  Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 requires all Partnerships to publish a ‘threshold document’, which sets out the local criteria for action in a way that is transparent, evidence-based, accessible, and easily understood.  BHSCP recognises this statutory need however believes language is important in describing how we deliver services to children. The ethos and aim is always, the right support at the right time.

 Therefore, we will no longer refer to our Family Help Document a ‘threshold’ document.  The Right Support at the Right Time documents will demonstrate how we aim to scaffold support across our Family Help services, including Social Work oversight, to provide continuity for families from the professional network around them. We aim to publish in May-June 2024 including the BHSCP Poverty Aware Practice Statement and the Brighton & Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership Vision for Family Help and Relationship-based Model of Practice. 

 Professionals are advised to use the current Threshold Document until publication.

Our existing document and associated guidance help to explain the different levels of support that a family may require. The guidance covers the expectations and statutory duties for all agencies to work together to safeguard and protect children, and to take measures to ensure that all agencies are working to offer Early Help to prevent matters from getting worse for a child or their family. 

Helping Children and Families, Threshold Document

Interactive Online Thresholds Framework which contains more information and links to further support and guidance.

The framework can also be printed as an A3 poster for quick reference. 

The needs of children and their families do not always easily fit into a category or a tick box. A child’s circumstances can change quickly and a child may move across the levels of need dependent on a number of different variables. Making a judgement about the level of need is not an exact science, but our Threshold Document seeks to provide a degree of clarity and guidance to support a consistent understanding and application of thresholds.

 

Mental Health Threshold Document

The Brighton and Hove Helping Children and Young People Mental Health Threshold Framework