Contacts and Referrals
RELEVANT PROCEDURES AND GUIDANCE
This procedure should be read in conjunction with:
West Yorkshire Consortium Safeguarding and Child Protection Procedures, Referrals Procedure
Information Sharing - West Yorkshire Consortium Safeguarding and Child Protection Procedures
DfE, Information Sharing Advice for Safeguarding Practitioners
Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE)
AMENDMENT
In October 2021, guidance contained in this chapter was reviewed and updated as required to reflect guidance from the refreshed Working Together to Safeguard Children.1. Initial Contacts
An Initial Contact is made where the Duty and Advice Team / Front Door is contacted about a child and there is a request for general advice, information or a service.
A contacts need to be considered alongside the thresholds for Children in Need and / or the Early Support Criteria (see A Framework for Making Safeguarding Decisions in Kirklees (Kirklees Safeguarding Children Partnership)).
At any time, an Initial Contact may become a Referral if it appears that services may be required for a Child in Need.
Any significant information received about a child who is an open case should be regarded as an Initial Contact, passed to the child's allocated Social Worker and recorded on Liquid Logic.
In all other cases, at the point when an Initial Contact is made, the duty worker should establish whether the enquiry can be dealt with by the provision of information and advice or re-direction to other agencies or services.
The duty worker should also check the electronic records (Liquid Logic) to see if the child or family is known to the Children and Young People's Services and, if known, retrieve information on them. (See Section 4, Screening Process).
2. Referrals
An Initial Contact will be progressed to a Referral where the Social Worker or manager considers an assessment and/or services may be required for a Child in Need.
Referrers should have the opportunity to discuss their concerns with a qualified Social 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.
Once the Referral has been accepted by local authority children's social care, the lead practitioner role falls to a Social Worker.
The Social Worker 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 visit or 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;
- 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.
3. Timescales
Once received, all Referrals must be written up and a decision made about their disposal within 1 working day of the initial contact. (Note: This should be as soon as possible where it is evident the child is seen as requiring immediate protection/urgent action)
Within 1 working day, the Social Worker should make a decision about the type of response that is required. 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 West Yorkshire Consortium Safeguarding and Child Protection Procedures for timescales); - 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, if so, what type of services; and
- Further specialist assessments are required in order to help the local authority to decide what further action to take.
4. Screening Process
The following process applies both to children who are already known to the authority and those who were not previously known.
The processing of Referrals must include screening against the A Framework for Making Safeguarding Decisions in Kirklees (Kirklees Safeguarding Children Partnership) and must include searches of internal records and databases (for example Liquid Logic) and agency checks to establish whether the family is previously known, whether there is a Child Protection Plan in relation to the child and/or whether the child is a Child in Care.
The screening process should establish:
- 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. For a fuller explanation see West Yorkshire Consortium Procedures, Recognising Abuse and Neglect Procedure;
- Whether there is any need for urgent action to protect the child or any children in the household.
This process will involve:
- Discussion with the referrer;
- 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 Referral is being made and consent sought, unless to do so would place a child or vulnerable adult 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 the DfE Information Sharing Advice for Safeguarding Practitioners and Working Together to Safeguard Children.
If there are indications that a child may be at risk of significant harm, the manager may authorise whatever actions are necessary to protect the child or others in the household from significant harm, including the immediate provision of services. There should be consideration of a Strategy Discussion and of a multi-agency response (see West Yorkshire Consortium Safeguarding and Child Protection Procedures, Strategy Discussion / Meetings Procedure).
If there is suspicion that a crime may have been committed including sexual or physical assault or neglect of the child, the Police must be notified immediately.
Personal information about non-professional referrers should not be disclosed to the parents or other agencies without the referrer's consent.
Parent's/carers should usually be informed before discussing a referral with other agencies unless this may place the child at risk of significant harm, in which case the manager should authorise the discussion of the referral with other agencies without parental knowledge. The authorisation should be recorded with reasons.
5. Initial Disposal of Referrals
The initial disposal of a Referral, which must be authorised by the manager, may be:
- 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 and/or no further action;
- That the child appears to be a Child in Need, in which case the Manager will authorise a Single Assessment;
- That it is suspected that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer from significant harm, which will trigger Strategy Discussion, prior to a Section 47 Enquiry and Single Assessment.
Professional referrers should be advised of the disposal of the Referral.
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.
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.
6. Recording of Referrals
All Initial Contacts and Referrals should be recorded on the child's record on Liquid Logic.