Contacts and Referrals

Concerns about a child's safety and well-being can be raised by anyone, including family members, friends, the police, teachers, healthcare professionals and partner agencies. Children and Families, Contact Swindon (C&FCS) is the Integrated Front Door of Children’s Services and serves as the referral point for all ‘Requests for a Service’ received by Children's Services. C&FCS receives this information, and is referred to as a “contact" with Children Services. Within 24 hours, social workers and a manager assess the urgency and decide on the next steps for the child.

A contact is created and recorded on the Children’s Electronic Case Management System when Children's Social Care receives a contact regarding any concern for a child who may be a child in need, risk of harm or request for Early Help Services at Level 3 or 4 of the The Right Help at the Right Time - Swindon Safeguarding Partnership.

All contacts will be considered alongside The Right Help at the Right Time - Swindon Safeguarding Partnership, and a decision will be made within 24 hours regarding the level of response required.

At any time, a Contact may become a Referral and progress to a statutory assessment, if the information deems this is required.

Any information received about a child who is open to an allocated Social Worker will be passed to the child's allocated social worker, the allocated Manager and their Business Support Team and for them to consider, record and add oversight to the Children’s Electronic Case Management System.

An Early Help Assessment is not a Request for Service form, although it may be used to support a Referral or a specialist assessment. Most referrers complete a request for service form. Children/Family/Residents are encouraged to telephone C&FCS to discuss their concerns. Referrers with Child Protection concerns must be telephoned into C&FCS.

Police/Ambulance/NSPCC have their own referral forms.

The following process applies to both children who have been previously known to Children's Services and those who have not been previously known.

The process for any new information regarding a child must consider 'The Right Help at the Right Time' - Swindon Safeguarding Partnership. It must include recording on the Children’s Electronic Case Management System and agency checks to establish whether the family is previously known.

The Triaging manager will consider the following:

• The nature of the concern;
• How and why it has arisen;
• What the child's needs appear to be;
• Whether the concern involves significant harm;
• Whether there is any need for urgent action to protect the child or any children in the household.

This process will involve:

• Consideration of any existing records, including whether the child is the subject of a Child Protection Plan;
• The parent or carer should normally be informed that a contact has been made unless to do so would place a child at increased risk of harm;
• The Information shared should always be necessary, proportionate, relevant, accurate, timely and secure.
• Involving other agencies as appropriate and in accordance with Information Sharing: Advice for Safeguarding Practitioners (DfE) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE).

If there are indications that a child may be at risk of significant harm, the manager may authorise any necessary actions to protect the child or others in the household from significant harm, which may result in the immediate provision of services. This may result in consideration of a Strategy Discussion and of a multi-agency response (see Swindon Safeguarding Partnership Procedures, Child Protection Enquiries - Section 47 Children Act 1989 Procedure, Strategy Discussion / Meeting).

If there is suspicion that a crime may have been committed, including sexual or physical assault or neglect of the child, the Police with C&FCS MASH must be notified immediately.

The Triaging Manager will assess and prioritise the contacts as Red/Ambers/Green/Blues.

Reds – Child Protection/Strat Discussion/Immediate response. RHRT L4.

Ambers – Likely an assessment. However, we may need more information. RHRT L3/4.

Greens – Early Help Service. L3.

Blues – information sharing.

Red contacts are progressed to a Manager and a Social Worker to screen for further information and progress to a Strategy Discussion or straight to a Statutory Assessment for a same-day visit to safety plan.

Amber contacts are progressed to a Social Worker to screen, gather/collate further information and to make a following step recommendation for the Manager to consider.

Green contacts are progressed to a Family Worker to screen and identify Early Help on Intervention services that may be required, and to refer them to those services.

Referrers should have the opportunity to discuss their concerns with a qualified social worker or Family Worker. The referrer should be asked specifically if they hold any information about difficulties being experienced by the family/household due to domestic abuse, mental illness, substance misuse and/or learning difficulties.

The social worker/family should clarify with the referrer, when known, the nature of the concerns and how and why they have arisen.

The social worker will arrange to contact the referrer and obtain as much of the following information as possible:

• Full names, dates of birth and gender of children;
• Family address and, where relevant, school/nursery attended;
• Identity of those with parental responsibility;
• Names and dates of birth of all members of the household;
• Ethnicity, first language and religion of children and parents;
• Nationality and immigration status;
• Any additional needs of the children, including the means by which they communicate;
• Any significant recent or past events;
• Cause for concern, including details of allegations, their sources, timing and location;
• The child's current location and emotional and physical condition;
• Whether the child needs immediate protection;
• Details of any alleged perpetrator;
• Referrer's relationship with and knowledge of the child and their family;
• Known involvement of other agencies;
• Information regarding parents' knowledge of the referral.

Personal information about non-professional referrers should not be disclosed to the parents or other agencies without the referrer's consent.

Parents/carers should usually be informed before discussing a contact with other agencies, unless this may place the child at risk of significant harm. In such cases, the manager should authorise the discussion of the referral with other agencies without parental knowledge. The authorisation should be recorded within the Children’s Electronic Case Management System, along with the reasons.

A Contact will be progressed to a Referral where the manager considers the statutory assessment may be required, or where the child has progressed to a Section 47

Within 1 working day, the manager should make a decision decision regarding next steps for the child This will include determining whether:

• The child requires immediate protection and urgent action is required;
• There is reasonable cause to suspect that the child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, and whether enquires must be made and the child assessed under section 47 of the Children Act 1989.
  (see Swindon Safeguarding Partnership Procedures, Child Protection Enquiries - Section 47 Children Act 1989 Procedure, Timescales for Section 47 Enquiries);
• The child is in need, and should be assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989;
• Any services are required by the child and family and what type of services; and
• Further specialist assessments are required in order to help the local authority to decide what further action to take;
• The social worker has 45 working days to complete a statutory assessment.

The manager authorises the outcome of a referral, and the options are:

1. That the child does not appear to be a child in need, which will result in one of the following: the provision of information, advice, sign-posting to another agency, referral to early help or universal services, or recorded for information.
2. That the child appears to be a child in need with a moderate level of need, and the manager authorises a single assessment;
3. That it is suspected that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer from significant harm, which will result in a single assessment, with a view to conducting a strategy discussion under section 47 enquiry.

Professional referrers will be notified of the referral outcome.

Feedback on the outcome of the referral should also be provided to non-professional referrers in a manner consistent with respecting the confidentiality of the child.

The child and family must be informed of the action to be taken.

The child should be seen within 5 working days if the decision is taken that the referral requires a statutory assessment.

Where requested to do so by local authority 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.

All contacts and referrals are recorded in the Children’s Electronic Case Management System in relation to the child of concern.