Local Authority Responses to a Referral
If a referral is made to Medway or Kent Children's Services, the reponses may be as follows:
A Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) request is made
This is a request for information from any agency involved with the child(ren). It would ask for contextual information about the child(ren) such as school attendance, academic achievement and progress, presentation in class, relationships with parents. It would also ask for any contextual or previous safeguarding concerns, and any current safeguarding concerns. It will always ask for the child(ren)'s voice - this will always involve a trusted school adult with whom the child is familiar and feels safe.
Parents would have been made aware of the referral and the concerns raised, and will have an opportunity to speak to a social worker with regards to their views.
From this, there are a number of potential responses depending on information gathered.
Referral to Early Help or Family Solutions
With the parents' consent, it may be decided that the most appropriate support may be through the family being supported through Family Solutions or wider Early Help support. Click here for more informartion on Early Help.
Child and Family Assessment (CAFA)
It may be deemed appropriate that further more in-depth work is required to investite issues that might be affecting a family. A Child and Family Assessment involves a social worker completing a range of work seeking views and opinons from the family as well as settings that may be involved such as schools. From this, further support may be directed.
Child in Need Plan (Section 17)
It may be deemed appropriate to place the child(ren) on a Child in Need Plan. This is plan which involves a package of support being put in place for your child and your family to address any areas of need and risk assessed by a Social Worker. The Social Worker who completed the Assessment in respect of your child will prepare a draft plan that they will bring to the first meeting, which is called a Child in Need Planning Meeting. There will then be follow up meetings every 6 weeks to review progress. If the situation improves satisfactorily for the family and child, this plan can be closed. However, if there is no improvement, it might be escalated.
Section 47 inquiry
A Section 47 enquiry is triggered whenever there are significant concerns about a child’s safety or welfare. These concerns can arise due to reports from professionals (e.g., teachers, healthcare workers) or members of the public. Typical situations that may lead to a Section 47 enquiry include:
- Reports or suspicions of abuse or neglect.
- Serious injuries with no clear explanation.
- Signs of harm or unsafe environments in the child’s home or community.
Outcomes from a Section 47 inquiry may be as follows:
- Child in Need Plan (see above)
- Child Protection Plan
Child Protection Plan
Following a Child Protection Conference, a Child Protection Plan may be instigated.
A full child protection plan should set out clear actions which aim to ensure the child will be kept safe and well. For example, that their parent or carer will engage with a specific course or support agencies, or that the parents must ensure they comply with clear actions to ensure the child(ren) are kept safe and well (for example, that the child must be taken to appointments, such as the GP).
The child protection plan should also set out:
- When and in what situations the child will be seen by the social worker
- How the social worker and other practitioners will support the child and family
- A clear explanation about what will happen if the plan is not kept to. This may mean that children’s services will consider starting care proceedings if the child is considered to be suffering significant harm.