Early Help and Children Social Care Concerns regarding vulnerable children and young people If you have a concern about a child or Talk to your local Children First Hub Refer to Children Social Care family, you have a responsibility to offer (manager details overleaf) or Integrated Concerns when Children Social Care advice and support to them in full. You Front Door (IFD) if your concerns persist referral may be appropriate: can do this in conjunction with other and you identify: providers, and support the family to • Concerns about the child development or • Sudden unexplained injury to child access all services available to them. behaviour change • Several minor injuries reoccurring Next steps: • Deterioration in appearance/self-harming • Disclosure of abuse • Suspicion of neglect/poor parenting 1. Talk to the child/family. • Young person becomes homeless • Signs that parent not coping/chaotic home 2. Talk to the designated Safeguarding lift/ mental health issues • Domestic violence when children are professional in your own agency. • Housing conditions present a risk to the involved child/family 3. Discuss with colleagues/partner agencies • Young child home alone or unattended • Domestic violence where a child was who know the family. • When continuous intervention by other present but not injured or likely to have agencies is not effective 4. Consider undertaking a holistic been assessment, e.g. Early Help Assessment • Reduction in school attendance/welfare • Unexplained sudden deterioration of and an Early Help Plan to provide concerns arising from low attendance health where advice is not being sought identified support. • Low level crime/anti-social behaviour/child • Any other safeguarding concerns. out at night • 2 or more unexplained missed medical appointments • Child/family substance use. The following documents can Contact us help you in making decisions Early Help and For more information, general questions or to make a referral, please use the contact details below for each This leaflet is in support of the Wakefield Children First Hub: Safeguarding Continuum. Mid Wakefield (Normanton Rural) Helen Challenger Team Manager Continuum of Need Strategy and Practitioners 01924 307878 Guide www.wakefieldlscb.org.uk/ [email protected] Increasing independence for children, professionals-and-practioners/early-help- (Castleford, Pontefract, Knottingley) young people and families strategy/ North East Karen Wilkinson Team Manager CONTINUUM OF NEED 01977 724350 SPECIALIST Guidance & examples of child focused risk 1 EARLY HELP CHILDREN’S [email protected] ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT assessments including the Neglect toolkit www.wakefieldlscb.org.uk/professionals- South East (Featherstone, Hemsworth) 2 3 Dave Taylor Team Manager UNIVERSAL 4 UNIVERSAL and-practitioners/neglect-strategy/ TARGETED SERIOUS 01977 722305 PLUS FORMAL COMPLEX [email protected] NEEDS Training is offered through Wakefield Safeguarding Children’s Board Wakefield West (Ossett, Horbury) Jennifer Smith Team Manager e www.wakefieldlscb.org.uk/ Th tim 01924 303272 e ri ight trainingcourses/ ght help at the r [email protected] 01/19 (Available to everyone working with children/ Children Social Care young people) for Statutory Social Care referrals 0345 8 503 503 Information to help Practitioners Safeguarding is everyone’s in decision making about the business right help, right time support for children and young people Designed and produced by Wakefield Council, Communications Council, Wakefield Designed and produced by 204289.