Why is Early Intervention Important?

Being able to spot the signs that child neglect or abuse is happening is an incredibly important part of safeguarding practices. But what can have an even bigger impact is understanding the warning signs and common factors that may lead to a child being harmed and knowing how to take action early to prevent it.

Early intervention is an essential part of protecting vulnerable children and minimising the impact of any abuse or trauma they suffer in life. Taking action before harm has been done is much easier and often less damaging than working to resolve problems after they have happened, and research has shown that strategies for early intervention can improve a child’s life chances at any point up until late adolescence.

Those who work with children in any capacity may be part of early intervention procedures, so it is useful to understand what is involved in the process and why early intervention is so important. It can be particularly useful for those who work in a nursery, primary and secondary education setting to understand the warning signs and procedures involved, as teachers and childcare staff are often the ones to notice early signs of abuse or neglect.

What is Early Intervention?

Early intervention, which is often also referred to as early help, is an official process and support system that is primarily for young children. It identifies those who have been victims of abuse or neglect or are at risk of abuse or neglect, as well as children who may have disabilities or delayed development, and puts measures in place to minimise harm or further complications.

In safeguarding, early intervention strategies are used to identify children who may be at risk before something bad happens or to identify when abuse or neglect may just have started to prevent it from worsening. The purpose of the action is to minimise harm by intervening before a situation involving a child could have serious consequences, which not only benefits the child and those around them but also reduces time and resources that may otherwise have been spent further down the line.

Early intervention also seeks to equip at-risk children with the mental and emotional tools that they need to capably navigate adult life.

What is an Early Intervention Program?

An early intervention program involves the agreed-upon actions that are taken to support an at-risk child and their family to prevent a mental, physical, emotional or situational issue from developing or getting worse. There may be a range of different child professionals involved, including doctors, social workers, educational specialists, and local authority members.

Early intervention programs may take the form of home visits and observations, they may involve group sessions that focus on mental or physical wellbeing, or they may involve appointments with mentors or support workers. A program tends to only last until the risk is deemed to have been removed, but many involve check-ins after this so that the situation can be monitored.

How Does Early Intervention Work?

There are countless studies to support the idea that early intervention works as a way of protecting vulnerable children, minimising the harm that they suffer and reducing the effects that this harm may have later in their lives. Whilst many people believe that this kind of intervention only has an impact in a child’s early years when development is still taking place, it has been proven to make a positive difference even if done during the early teenage years.

Early intervention works by recognising the warning signs of a disability, development disorder or abuse and neglect. By acting early, particularly in the case of child abuse and neglect, these scenarios can be avoided or the harm they may cause can be minimised, which is much better for the child involved and the people around them.

Early intervention works so well because many cases of child abuse, neglect, or delayed development are preventable if action is taken at the right time. Offering additional support to families, providing a child with counselling or mentorship, identifying changes that need to be made at home or school and having regular contact with support workers can all make a big difference.

Another reason that an early help strategy works well is that it removes the need for more serious action to be taken at a later date. This means that more resources from a local authority or child protection services can be used to prevent scenarios where child neglect or abuse can happen and educate others on these preventative measures, which ultimately reduces the chances of it happening at all.

Why is Early Intervention Important for Children?

Whilst early intervention is not always 100% effective at preventing child neglect or abuse, it’s still incredibly important because of how much it reduces the harm done to a child.

Firstly, early intervention is important because it can massively improve many children’s home lives. If someone is at risk of neglect due to limited finances or a parent with an illness or addiction for example, additional support could mean that their family has more money, more food, and support from local services which makes their living conditions much more pleasant. Similarly, if a parent or a parent’s partner is putting a child at risk of abuse, removing this risk or limiting contact will help the child to feel safer at home.

Early intervention can also positively impact a child’s relationships, both with their family and with other people. Whether this is done through offering counselling that leads to healthier attachments or by removing factors that were making relationships strained, both are important ways of improving wellbeing.

It’s also worth noting that early intervention can lead to healthier relationships in a child’s adult life by improving their emotional and mental health and reducing exposure to unhealthy relationships.

Many early intervention programmes also focus on helping a child to build skills that will be useful to them throughout their lives, such as resilience, stress management and self-awareness. A lot of children who suffer from abuse or neglect can struggle with building relationships, emotional regulation and unhealthy coping mechanisms if not given appropriate support, so early intervention is important to ensure the child is equipped to manage any future issues that may crop up. 

A difficult home life, developmental problems or traumatic experiences can all have an impact on a child’s educational progress, so early intervention programs are also important as they increase the likelihood that a child will do well in school. Additional support with schoolwork may be a part of the actions agreed on by their early intervention team, or it may just be that minimising disruptions at home helps them to do better.

Finally, one of the biggest reasons that early intervention is so important is that it has a huge effect on children and young people’s mental health. Suffering from neglect and abuse at any age can cause serious psychological issues at the time and later in life, so reducing this by intervening early on will protect the child’s mental health and improve their overall quality of life because of it.

Strategies for Early Intervention

Early intervention is used for children with disabilities and developmental delays as well as those who have been identified as vulnerable to abuse or neglect, and the strategies used for each of these differ. The nature of the harm a child is at risk of suffering will also affect the strategies that are used to improve their situation.

Firstly, a child will be identified as being at risk. This may be done by a teacher, healthcare professional, social worker, family member or an individual worried about their wellbeing. Safeguarding procedures will be followed to ascertain whether there is a serious and imminent risk of harm, or whether the child will benefit from early intervention.

If a child’s home environment is putting them at risk, one strategy may be to offer the parents additional financial or emotional support. Local childcare services may also be used so that a vulnerable child is spending less time at home and instead is looked after in a safe environment.

School programmes or group schemes may also be used as an early intervention strategy, particularly with older children or teenagers. These may offer support and advice on positive mental wellbeing, provide peer-to-peer support systems, and also ensure that a vulnerable child isn’t spending time in toxic environments.

A child may also be given counselling or psychological help as part of early intervention as a way of equipping them with the mental tools to cope with instability at home, poor relationship examples or previous trauma. This tends to be a strategy used more with older children or teenagers, as very young children are less receptive.

Finally, one of the common strategies for early intervention is continual assessment and observation to monitor the situation. In most cases this helps to ensure that the early intervention has had a positive impact, but is also important as if a child’s situation suddenly becomes riskier and requires immediate intervention, action can be taken quickly. 

FAQs

What is early intervention in child care?

Early intervention is a process that is usual in several different areas of safeguarding and support, but it is most commonly used in child care or education settings to assess whether a young child might be at risk. If a child is identified as needing early intervention, a process will begin where their situation is assessed, a plan is formed to provide support and the child is monitored to assess progress.

How are observations used for early intervention?

Observations are used in a range of settings as an opportunity to gauge a child’s development and progress and decide what kind of additional support might be needed. Before early intervention takes place, observation sessions might be set up to watch a child act in a range of situations to assess what potential problems might be present and decide whether further action is required.

What is an early childhood intervention specialist?

An early childhood intervention specialist is someone who has been trained to have particular knowledge and experience with early intervention in children. They may have specialised in a certain area, such as learning disabilities or abuse, or they might be the leading expert in their department who is consulted about cases and offers advice on the best courses of action.

Summary

The benefits of early intervention are promising from early childhood right the way through to late adolescence. Not only does it remove the strain on services that deal with serious and emergency cases of child abuse and neglect, meaning that immediate action can be taken every time, but it reduces the long-term harm done to vulnerable children and can improve life for their entire family as well.

If you’d like to find out more about why early intervention is so important and what other processes are involved in early help, we offer a comprehensive ‘Early Help and CAF’ online course suitable for anyone who works in a role with children.