Worried about a child?

Level 3 - Children with multiple or complex needs

For children and families with multiple or complex needs or persistent needs which cannot be met by universal or community early help support alone and who require coordinated multi‑disciplinary support to prevent escalation.

Families receiving support at this level may be experiencing difficulties, or a significant event or change which has added to or escalated existing emerging needs, and which if not addressed could impact on a child’s development, wellbeing or safety.

Children may be experiencing a cumulative impact where repeated or ongoing experiences, which may appear of less concern, combine over time to have a substantial effect on their development, wellbeing or safety.

Support at this level includes targeted early help and statutory support under Section 17 (Child in Need) where required to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare.

Below are examples of the indicators that suggest a child or young person would need level 3 support.

Children and young people

  • I am persistently absent (10% or more) and there are increasing concerns about my wellbeing
  • I am not on any school roll or I am a Child Missing from Education and there are concerns about my welfare
  • I am at risk of or I have been permanently excluded from school and there are concerns about my welfare
  • I am home educated or unseen and there are concerns for my welfare
  • There is significant delay in me achieving my developmental milestones which is attributable to the care I am receiving
  • I have significant dental decay or other medical needs that are not being treated
  • I am experiencing persistent or complex difficulties, or a decline in my emotional health and wellbeing over time, or a significant change which has a substantial impact on my wellbeing and my family need help to support me
  • I am at risk of harming myself and my family need help to support me
  • I am increasingly committing crime or am involved in anti-social behaviour and early, community-based support has not enabled this to reduce
  • I am a pregnant teenager and there are significant concerns about the welfare of me or my unborn baby
  • I am vulnerable to being sexually abused and exploited and my family need help to support me
  • I am in a relationship and am vulnerable to, or exhibiting, intimate partner abuse or violence and my family need help to support me
  • I am displaying violent or abusive behaviours towards family members, and my family need help to support me
  • I am vulnerable due to my drug or alcohol use and my family need help to support me
  • I have significant disabilities and my family require some help to support me
  • I have complex neuro-diverse needs and my family need help to support me
  • I am a homeless child in need, including 16 to 17 year olds
  • I am a young carer whose caring duties are having a significant impact on my health, wellbeing or education outcomes
  • I am an unborn baby and my parents need support to ensure I am safe, healthy and developing well
  • The conflict in my parent or carer's relationship is having a significant impact on my emotional and psychological wellbeing and early support has not reduced this
  • I am a child subject of a Court Ordered Report under s7 or s37 being completed by children’s social care
  • I am a victim in my own right of one or more incidents of domestic abuse that have or are likely to impact on my physical, emotional, psychological wellbeing (Police DARA medium risk)
  • I am privately fostered

Parents and carers

  • My family needs support to meet my disability needs
  • My family are being evicted despite professional or agency support
  • Relationships in my family are breaking down and there is serious risk I may become homeless and have to be looked after outside my family
  • My parents or carers are unable to ensure food, warmth, clean clothes, clean, safe housing, medical care and supervision are consistently available to me and this is impacting on my development and wellbeing
  • My parents or carers are unable to consistently notice, understand or respond well to my emotional needs causing them to react harshly, respond unpredictably or lack warmth, comfort or reassurance. This is impacting on my development and wellbeing and early community support has not improved things for me
  • My parents or carers are consistently making inappropriate or unsafe childcare arrangements for me
  • My parents' or carers' health or learning difficulties are having a significant impact on my development and wellbeing and early support has not improved this
  • My parents' or carers' substance misuse is having a significant impact on my development and wellbeing and early support has not improved this
  • My parents' or carers' offending behaviours are having a direct negative impact on me and early support has not improve this
  • My parents or carers' emotional or mental health difficulties are having a significant impact on my development and wellbeing and early support has not improved this
  • My parent or carer is experiencing domestic abuse which is impacting significantly on their safety and wellbeing. (Police DARA Medium risk)
  • My parents have no recourse to public funds and have no other means of providing food and accommodation for me

Risk to me outside my home

  • I regularly go missing from home and there are concerns about my welfare due to where I am and who I'm with
  • I am being actively encouraged to become involved in a gang
  • I am being encouraged to carry drugs or weapons
  • I am in contact with people in the community who pose a risk of sexual exploitation
  • I am in contact with people in the community who pose a risk of radicalisation
  • I am exposed to harmful content, conduct, or contact online

Agreement to engage

Family help at this level should be discussed and agreed with the family, making sure they understand why support is being suggested, what it will involve and how information will be shared. When you have agreement to engage complete a request for support.

If the family do not agree to engage, you should continue to offer community early help, or consider whether concerns meet the threshold for level 4 support - Children in need of protection.

You can still complete a request for support if it has not been possible to talk to parents or carers. A Family Help assessment may not be progressed if agreement to engage cannot be gained and where further enquiries do not identify that children may be in need of protection.

Get support

When you have agreement to engage, complete a request for support.

You can still complete a request for support if it has not been possible to talk to parents and carers. A Family Help assessment may not be progressed if agreement to engage cannot be gained and where further enquiries do not identify that children may be in need of protection.

Next steps

Decisions will be made through multi-agency processes to ensure children and families receive the right level of support.

Where Family Help is identified, a Lead Practitioner will be appointed to lead the assessment.

Support will be coordinated through a multi-agency team around the family and reviewed regularly to ensure it remains proportionate to need.

Where concerns increase and there is reasonable cause to suspect actual or likely significant harm, a request for support must be made.