Family Help and Family Support Panel

Make a referral to the Family Help and Family Support Panel

Documents within this page are Cumbria Safeguarding Children Partnership branded, their content and branding is currently being reviewed.

You can share information with the Panel about the family you are working with and what has been done to try and help so far. The Panel will then try to solve the issues affecting the families Family Help Plan.

You should seek the permission of the family to discuss their situation with the panel.

Members of the panel include:

health visitors, schools
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
children's centres
police
Family Support Service
social workers
young carers organisations

They will bring with them any other information they have about the families' situation that might help the conversation.

Early Help and Family Support Panel Process (PDF , 167KB)

What happens after the panel has discussed your situation

The Panel will try and identify other agencies that might be able to provide more support and update the Family Help Plan.

Occasionally for some difficult problems the Panel might suggest that a Social Worker needs to be involved. If this happens, you should let the family know.

Make a referral

You should submit a referral seven days before the meeting date. The panel meeting dates for the next year are as follows:

South Lakes and Eden (1pm to 3pm)

18th September 2025
16th October 2025
13th November 2025
4th December 2025
8th January 2025
5th February 2025
12th March 2025
16th April 2025
14th May 2025
11th June 2025
2nd July 2025

Furness (1pm to 3pm)

25th September 2025
23rd October 2025
20th November 2025
11th December 2025
15th January 2025
12th February 2025
19th March 2025
23rd April 2025
21th May 2025
18th June 2025
9th July 2025

In order to be able to provide the panel with as much information as possible it is important that this form is populated with all relevant detail.  It may delay discussion if there are gaps.

Referral to an Early Help and Family Support Panel (DOCX , 79KB)

Preparing For The Meeting

In preparation for the meeting, you can speak to an Family Help Officer who will talk you through the meeting format and what your role will be within the meeting. They can answer any questions you may have.

Family Help individual contact details list (PDF , 110KB)

You can also read our Practitioner's Guide to Early Help and Family Support Panels (PDF , 1MB)

Give Feedback

You can give feedback on the panel meeting; this helps us understand if they are helpful and the right people attended.