Consultation and Referral Procedure
General Public
Members of the general public who have concerns for the welfare of a child, or an unborn child, should contact the Helpdesk (Phone 01952 385700) or the Emergency Duty Team if out of office hours (01952 676500) or the Police Public Protection Unit (0300 333 3000) and discuss their concerns.
Staff of SCB Agencies
If and when somebody believes that a child, or an unborn child, may be suffering, or be at risk of suffering significant harm, they should use their agency procedures and ensure that consultation is commenced with the Helpdesk (phone 01952 385700) by the person nominated in those procedures, unless discussion with a manager results in agreement that other action should be taken. A document outlining the triggers for consultation with the helpdesk can be found in the document library of these procedures. In addition a checklist for the evaluation of a child's circumstances is available, also in the document library . This is not a pre-requisite to contacting the Helpdesk but will help staff to gather factual information about their concerns.
The Protocol in relation to assessment information sharing between ISA and Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting Teams can be accessed from the Document Library.
Helpdesk staff, in consultation with their manager, will decide whether the information should be dealt with under the Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting Service Business Process Policy or under the Common Assessment Framework and will advise accordingly.
Professionals acting on their concerns for a child, who do not have agency procedures, should contact the Helpdesk directly.
If the matter is to be dealt with by referral to the Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting Service Definitions of abuse and neglect and the information required to make a referral can be found in the document library attached to these procedures.
On receiving this information a Strategy Discussion will take place. In some cases this discussion will take place in a formal meeting, in other cases, particularly if the matter is urgent, the discussion will be conducted by phone or e-mail. The Flow Diagram (available in the Document Library of these procedures) demonstrates the decision path which leads to this discussion. Information on the way strategy discussions/meetings are conducted also can be found in the document library.
If the concern arises out of normal office hours, the consultation should take place with the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) Tel: 01952 676500, who will act in accordance with these procedures.
Staff should actively discuss their concerns with the family and seek to obtain agreement to entering into consultation or making a referral unless, in consultation with a manager, this would place the child or any other person at an increased risk of harm.
All actions taken in regard to this procedure are to be recorded in a way which shows the information available, the decision making points, those responsible for the decisions and the action taken to implement the decisions. Records are to be signed and dated by each party to the decision. All referrals from professionals to the Helpdesk or to the EDT should be confirmed in writing within 48 hours of being made, using the Common Assessment Format.