Report a child safeguarding concern

Safeguarding means to protect someone from harm.

If you have concerns about a child or young person and think they may need help, you can report it to us online.

You’ll need to complete one form for each family.

To complete the form, you must tell us:

  • whether an early help assessment has been done. If you tell us an early help assessment has been done, you must upload a copy
  • whether the family understands how the information you give will be used
  • what your concerns are about the child, what’s going well for them and what’s changed to prompt your contact
  • about the capacity of the parents or other family members to meet the child’s needs
  • what support has already been provided and what that has achieved.

It would be helpful to also provide:

  • the child’s details, primary carer and family details
  • an alternative contact if you’re not available
  • the child’s drawings, body maps or any other supporting documentation
  • an indication of the type of help that’s needed.

To receive a copy of your report you’ll need to provide an email address.

Report a child safeguarding concern online

For security, the form will ask you to start again after 30 minutes of inactivity.

You may want to have important documents and details to hand before you start to complete the form.

If you make an error when you fill in the forms, or you need to change any of the details you’ve given us, please phone us on 01634 334 466.

What happens next

Your report will be received by the First Response Service, which includes the following teams:

  • the Single Point of Access (SPA) Team
  • the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).

They will review the information you have provided, then decide what intervention is needed.

You will receive a copy of your report to the secure email address you provide when completing the form.

Professionals will receive a letter with the outcome of our decision within 5 working days.