Sandwell Early Help portal brings together local support agencies which deliver targeted early help support activities for young people and families in Sandwell. It provides information on a range of support that focuses on some of the more challenging things in life, with the aim to improve the life and experiences of young people and their parents and carers – whether that’s through sports or leisure activities, peer to peer/one to one support, learning new skills, mentoring and much more.
All the services listed on this website are ‘targeted early help’ in that they are accessible through a referral process only. Organisations list information about what activities they offer and who they expect to benefit most. Some activities do make a charge to help towards their costs, but all organisations listed on this website are not-for-profit and the information listing will show whether there is a charge or not.
Our additional pages share news updates, service spotlights, relevant guidance and information along with video introductions/biogs of local providers; we aim to build knowledge, confidence and more personal connections amongst local agencies.
This website is run by SCVO, a local registered charity (no. 1071514, www.scvo.info) on behalf of the Sandwell Early Help Partnership. This Partnership brings together schools, voluntary agencies, community organisations, faith groups, Sandwell Council, health providers, police and fire services and others, to work more closely supporting children and families in Sandwell.
The Partnership believes that all children and young people in Sandwell deserve the best possible experience of growing up, and should have access to a wide range of opportunities to grow and develop into healthy, happy individuals and active citizens within our community.
To ensure that agencies and sign posters have confidence in the capability and credibility of services listed on this site, organisations wishing to list their targeted support service(s) will be subject first to desk based quality checks by SCVO against a defined list of quality and safeguarding requirements. These include:
- All frontline staff members have been DBS checked within the last 3 years
- Staff and Volunteers are safely recruited and continual learning opportunities offered
- Employers Liability insurance is in place for the minimum of £5 million; Public Liability insurance is in place for the minimum of £10 million
- Designated Safeguarding Leads are named and trained to Level 3
- The organisations policy framework includes: Safeguarding, Lone Working/Home Visiting Policy, Recording, Behaviour Policy and any other service specific Policies
- Staff trained to Safeguarding Levels 1 and 2 and First Aid Awareness
- Staff receive regular Supervision
- Health & Safety Risk Assessments are completed for the safety of staff and service users
- Clear assessment and Child’s voice captured within recording, and stored safely
- Compliments/Complaints or Feedback collected to inform service change
These quality checks undertaken by SCVO do not indemnify any third parties including service providers, and due diligence checks should be undertaken by any agencies seeking to gain support from the organisations listed on this site to ensure the quality and safety of services. SCVO, nevertheless, reserves the right to temporarily remove services or bar organisations should concerns around quality or safety be raised which require further investigation or remedial action.
Sandwell Early Help portal relies on targeted support providers to keep the information they list on the website clear, accurate and up to date. If you notice any information which is incorrect or out of date, please send us a message so that we can improve the information at earlyhelp@scvo.info
If you provide a not-for-profit, targeted early help service for people in Sandwell and would like to list your activities on Sandwell Early Help portal, please get in touch with the Early Help Partnership Co-ordinator at earlyhelp@scvo.info