Reporting a concern – process for professionals
If you suspect that a child or young person is being, or is at risk of being significantly harmed as a result of abuse or neglect, you must report this immediately.
Professionals working with children and families (either in a paid or voluntary position) should:
- Discuss your concerns in the first instance with your Safeguarding Lead or line manager if you are unsure if they are suffering significant harm
- Inform the parents and / or gain their consent for you to make this contact unless doing so would put the child at risk
- Gather initial information using the Inter-Agency Contact Form
- During office hours (9.00am – 5.00pm) call Portsmouth Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0845 671 0271 or 023 9268 8793
- Out of office hours (evenings, weekends and bank holidays) call the Duty Team on 0300 555 1373
- This contact should be followed up with an inter-agency contact form within 48 hours.
If you believe a child is in immediate danger and at risk of harm call the police on 999
For help completing the Inter-Agency Contact Form (IACF) please see the guidance.
If the child or young person is not at risk of being significantly harmed practitioners should consider an Early Help response
Practitioners who make a referral should always follow up their concerns if they are not satisfied with the response, please refer to Resolving Professional Differences – Re-think and Escalation
You should seek, in general, to discuss concerns with the family and, where possible seek the family’s agreement to making a referral unless this may, either by delay or the behavioural response it prompts or for any other reason, place the child at increased risk of significant harm.
A decision by any professional not to seek parental permission before making a referral to MASH must be approved by their manager, recorded and the reasons given
Where a parent has agreed to a referral, this must be recorded and confirmed on the relevant referral form
Where the parent is consulted and refuses to give permission for the referral, further advice and approval should be sought from a manager or the Designated Senior Person or Named Professional, unless to do so would cause undue delay. The outcome of the consultation and any further advice should be fully recorded
All recording with regards to consent to share information should be included in the inter-agency contact form and kept on individual organisation’s record systems.
If you have a concern about a member of staff working with children (in either a paid or voluntary capacity) please contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) on 023 9288 2500 or email LADO@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
If your concerns is about a vulnerable adults, please refer to the guidance on the Safeguarding Adults Board website on how to report your concerns.