See also Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board, Referral and Initial Information Record.
This chapter was updated throughout in August 2016 in line with local practice/structures, and should be re-read in its entirety.
An Initial Contact is made where Children’s Social Care is contacted about a child, who may be a Child in Need, and where there is a request for general advice, information or a service.
All new contacts during office hours about children should be made to the Initial Response Service (IRS). Any contacts outside of office hours are taken by the Emergency Duty Team (EDT).
Any significant information received about a child who is an open case should be regarded as an Initial Contact and must be passed to the child’s allocated social worker and team manager and recorded on ICS.
The Screening Team receives all calls to the Initial Response Service (IRS) and is trained to screen and pass calls about children in need to the appropriate person without delay. They are familiar with these procedures and respond promptly to any contact concerning suspected or deliberate harm to a child.
All incoming contacts, e.g. by telephone, fax, email, or in person to the IRS are defined as a “Contact” and must be recorded on the ICS Contact Record.
If the contact is from another agency or professional, whether a Early Help Assessment is in place and cross reference this information with the e-Early Help Assessment database.
The receiving social worker will request professional referrers to provide written referrals, within 48 hours of making a verbal referral on the form. Also see Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) Procedures Manual.
Contacts/referrals from members of the public should be dealt with in the same respectful manner as all other contacts/referrals. Letters and telephone calls, including unclear, incoherent or anonymous messages from the public alerting the Service to concerns for children and families should not be treated any less seriously than information received from other agencies/professionals.
Members of the public can remain anonymous; therefore when a contact/referral is received from a member of the public, personal information about referrers, including anything that could identify them, should only be disclosed to third parties (including other agencies) with the consent of the referrer.
Calls clearly of a safeguarding nature: Refer to the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) Procedures Manual. Where there are safeguarding concerns about the welfare of a child, the Screening Team will refer the case immediately to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for multi-agency information sharing and decision making.
Pass the detail to the MASH Co-ordinator to decide whether the contact constitutes a referral.
In relation to Children’s Social Care, parents’ permission should be sought before discussing a referral about them with other agencies, unless permission seeking may itself place a child in likelihood of Significant Harm. The Screening Team should check whether consent has been given already (Haringey compliance) and, if not, seek consent from the parents/child where appropriate to discuss with other agencies unless permission seeking may result in the child being more likely to suffer Significant Harm. Where is a decision is made by the MASH Manager in Children’s Social Care that the threshold of significant harm is met and it is not appropriate to consult with parents regarding the sharing of information with other agencies, the rationale for this decision must be recorded on the child’s file.
See also Confidentiality Policy and Information Sharing, Working Together to Safeguarding Children.
Overall the intention of the guidance is to place an expectation on professionals that they will explain to families what they are doing, why, and seek consent to information sharing where this does not place the child at increased likelihood of significant harm.
The law permits the disclosure of confidential information necessary to safeguard a child or children in the public interest but disclosure should be justifiable in each case, according to the facts of the case and legal advice should be sought in cases of doubt.
Following this initial screening, all cases where there are safeguarding concerns must be referred immediately to the MASH which consists of the MASH Co-ordinator; Police; Health and Children’s Social Care. The MASH Co-ordinator will rag rate the referral according to urgency of response. The MASH will consult with their host agencies to collate relevant information and this will inform decision making about the child’s health and development, or actual and/or potential harm, which justify further enquiries, assessments and/or interventions.
At the end of any review of a case within the MASH, the MASH co-ordinator must record a decision as to the response to the referral, timescales and who will be taking this action, or if no further action will be taken.
The MASH Co-ordinator will decide, within 24 hours, whether the child’s needs may need to be met by the provision of further services, taking into account the Newcastle Children’s Trust Thresholds for Access to Services and whether the child has complex needs.
Immediate action to safeguard a child.
Track progress on each referral and ensures that actions agreed and timescales are adhered to.
If, at any time in the process, the information indicates safeguarding concerns the NSCB Procedures should be followed.
Once the referral has been accepted by local authority children's social care the Lead Practitioner role falls to a social worker.
Where requested to do so by children's social care, professionals from other parts of the local authority such as housing and those in health organisations have a duty to cooperate under Section 27 of the Children Act 1989 by assisting the local authority in carrying out its children's social care functions.
A child who is currently receiving services from Children’s Social Care will have been, or will be subject to a Child and Family Assessment and will have a Child in Need or Child Protection Plan or Care Plan as a Looked After Child in place to address identified need. In all cases when new concerns are received regarding a child on a case open to Children’s Social Care, all information held by Social Care regarding the family must be considered to ensure a full analysis on all available information can be made to support decisions regarding further action and any subsequent assessment.
If there is a concern regarding significant harm the Screening Team will contact the relevant Social Worker/Team Manager immediately and record the contact on ICS.
In other contacts, the Screening Team will pass the information on to the allocated social worker. The allocated social worker will consult with their Team Manager, and family/carers, the child, relevant professionals, as appropriate and review all information held regarding by Children’s Social Care on the family, to determine how the concerns can be addressed. It may be appropriate to convene a strategy meeting if in the context of the contact and current issues in the case there are child protection concerns or a planning meeting to formally pursue the concerns.
Send the Contact Record to the social worker and the social worker’s Team Manager.
Inform the referrer, if a professional, of the outcome.
NB If the Social Worker is not available, the Team Manager will ensure that this is undertaken.
In all cases, if the criteria for Child Protection enquires have been met, the immediate safety of the child has to be considered and appropriate action taken to safeguard their well-being according to the NSCB Procedures. This will require a strategy meeting to be held and consideration to be given to a s.47 enquiry and a new Child and Family Assessment.
If a referral is made about a child who has been an open case within the previous 3 months, the Team Manager/Senior Practitioner of the relevant team must be consulted as for “Open Cases” above.
Send the Contact Record to the previous social worker’s Team Manager. If there is a concern regarding Significant Harm the Duty Social Worker will contact the Team Manager immediately.
Contacts received as a result of a Common Assessment being undertaken will have a single page referral sheet attached to the Early Help Assessment. To avoid duplication, the content of the Common Assessment will inform the Statutory Assessment, although children and families must be seen and their views and those of all relevant professionals must be taken into account when completing the Statutory Assessment.
Commence the Child and Family Assessment.
Pursue written referral from professionals, if requested, after 24 hours.
Whenever a practitioner contacts the service for advice, the record of the discussion must be recorded on ICS. Practitioners are likely to seek consultation if they are unclear about levels of need and risk.
Once received, all Referrals must be written up and a decision made about their disposal within one working day.
Complete referrer notification letter and letter of support to family as directed by Team Manager, including signposting to more appropriate services according to the child and family’s identified needs.
Ensure all information is passed to allocated social worker.
Early Help Assessment passed to Duty Team Manager for decision when received.
Matters raised by the Referrer that should be recorded.
Following decisions by the IRS Team Manager, complete the relevant acknowledgement letter(s).
Record Early Help Assessment recommended on contact form for case to be reviewed through Supporting Families.
It may be necessary and appropriate at any stage in Children’s Social Care involvement with a Child in Need to refer the child and family to other agencies for assistance.
Request confirmation in writing from the agency that the referral has been received and this information retained on file.
If this action does not resolve the matter the relevant Service Manager should be consulted without delay.
Please see Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) Procedures Manual.
Children have a right to the protection and remedies offered by the criminal law. The Police have a duty and responsibility to investigate criminal offences against children. The Police must be notified as soon as possible when it becomes clear that a criminal offence may have been committed against a child. This does not mean that in all such cases a criminal investigation will be required, or that there will necessarily be any further Police involvement.
If there is doubt or uncertainty about notifying the Police, the Team Manager should consult the relevant Service Manager.
Notify Duty Social Worker of identification of PI warning.
If the case progresses to assessment Duty Manager to liaise with Allocating Manager regarding PI information received.
Children in Need who have an identified complex health need or a disability which fulfils the criteria of the Children with Disabilities Team can be referred directly to them. For further information please see Children with Disabilities Team: Access to Services Eligibility Criteria Procedure.
Occasionally homeless families and young people already involved with Children’s Social Care may be found temporary accommodation. Alternatively Children’s Social Care may be asked by a referring agency to undertake an assessment of their needs.
The Team Manager must then write to Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) informing them that the accommodation provided is thought to be unfit for a child to live in.
In such circumstances a Planning Meeting should be convened to consider the overall needs of the child. YHN must always be invited to attend.
Make an immediate referral to ASPIRE service if the child is a Looked After Child.
Note: Looked after children within this context include children being educated within private educational facilities, i.e. Independent Special Schools and settings not approved by Education.
If a child is admitted to hospital and the staff have either Child in Need or Child Protection concerns, Children’s Social Care should be immediately notified as per these procedures. Liaison must take place between Paediatric Staff and Children’s Social Care within one day to agree what action, if any, is required. The child should not be discharged from hospital without a written plan being agreed, which highlights how these concerns will be address.
Any child/young person presenting as an unaccompanied minor, will be considered to be a vulnerable child/young person in need. The child/young person will be placed in care of Local Authority, while an age assessment alongside a Statutory Assessment is undertaken. The child/young person has the right to the protection and remedies offered by the Criminal Law. It is essential that consideration be given to guidance that includes: trafficked children; forced marriage; honour based violence. In these circumstances refer to the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) Procedures Manual.
Close liaison with the Police and Border and Immigration is essential throughout this assessment process.
There may be occasion where families present having no legal status to remain within this country. The families may seek assistance to return to their home of origin. Alternatively the family may request access to services from Children’s Social Care under s.17 arrangements. In these circumstances a Statutory Assessment which addresses the holistic needs of the children must be initiated.
See also Families with No Recourse to Public Funds Procedure.
Click here for flow chart and consulate information for Returning a Family to their Country of Origin, with a Child and without a Passport.
Contacts or referrals that need to be made outside of office hours must be made to the Emergency Duty Team. The EDT will act on behalf of Children’s Social Care, providing an out of office hours service (5.00pm - 8.45am), including weekends and Bank Holidays.
Where anyone has a concern for a child’s safety and welfare outside of normal office hours s/he can contact EDT for a check to be made regarding a Child Protection Plan. The referral will be taken and passed to the day services the following working day, unless emergency action is required.
Immediate action will be taken to protect a child.
If there is a difference of opinion between the referrer and the EDT worker regarding the status of a referral, the EDT worker will consult with police colleagues and a home visit will be made if it is felt necessary to assess the situation and any risk to the child/ren. Following assessment, if the EDT Social Worker does not believe that a Child in Need of protection referral should be made, s/he should provide advice, assistance and support to the family as required and record all the information to pass to the Initial Response Service the next working day. In this event the Duty social worker must contact the referrer on receipt of the information to further discuss their concerns and attempt to resolve any disagreement.
To ensure that information is passed on from EDT to daytime services, EDT must update ICS immediately and that information is sent on to IRS the next working day.