Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB)

BriefingNote for Practitioners & Managers (2)

November 2012

Staffordshire’s Threshold Framework:

Section 17 Child in Need Referrals & Consent

Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB) and our partner agencies have identified through multi-agency practitioner feedback at training events and through our current learning review, that there is a need to offer greater clarity across the wider workforce in relation to seeking parental consent when making a referral to Staffordshire’s First Response Service in the M.A.S.H (Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub).

The information provided below is therefore aimed at all frontline practitioners and managers to help everyone to clearly understand their role and responsibilities in making a referral:

The statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ (DfE, 2010) states:

"Professionals should seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with the child and family and, where possible, seek their agreement to making referrals to local authority Children's social care, this should only be done where such discussion and agreement seeking will not place the child at increased risk of suffering significant harm" (paragraph 5.18)".

To support this positionStaffordshire's SSCB Threshold Framework (April 2012 version) states:

"Whilst professionals should in general discuss any concerns with the child and family and where possible seek their agreement to making referrals to Staffordshire Children’s Social Care Services, this should only be done where such discussion and agreement-seeking will not place the child or others at increased risk of suffering significant harm. Consent is not required for child protection referrals; however you, as the referring professional, would need to inform parents or carers that you are making a referral as stated above, unless by alerting them you could be putting that child or others at risk. With the exception of child protection, referrals will not be accepted by the First Response Service in the M.A.S.H without parental consent being provided. If consent has not been sought or provided, the reason for this should be shared at the time of the referral being made".

The Threshold guidance currently states that the First Response Service in the M.A.S.H may refuse to accept a referral if parent / carer consent has not been provided. It is accepted that the use of the term ‘consent’ may be misleading as this implies that a referral can only be made where a parent / carerhas given their permission for it and if they are unwilling to agree, that a referral cannot therefore be made to the First Response Service in the M.A.S.H.

We obviously want to ensure that the threshold document is clear and that we are all aware of our professional role and responsibilitiesin promoting the welfare and safety needs of all children who are potentially in need. As a result of practitioner feedback we have therefore amended the April 2012 version of the SSCB Threshold Framework document to make it more explicit.

The ‘SSCB Threshold Framework’ guidance document has been amendedfrom the current information of:

"Referrals will not be accepted by the First Response Service in the MASH without parental consent being provided"

To:"Referrals will not be accepted by the First Response Service in the MASH without parents having been consulted".

The Key Messages of this Briefing are:

  • Professionals are required to "discuss" the referral and "where possible" seek agreement. In practice this means that referring professionals are required to have discussed the referral with parents prior to making it.
  • If this discussion has not been held by professionals prior to making a child in need referral then the First Response Service in the M.A.S.H. will ask the referring professional to do this prior to accepting the referral.
  • The important issue here is that parents have been consulted with about the referral before it is made.
  • In those few cases where parents have expressed an unwillingness toagreeto the assessment process, the First Response Service in the M.A.S.H need to be clearly informed of this and they will help to manage this difficulty.
  • If there is good evidence that a child is in need and a parent isnot agreeingto anassessment thenStaffordshire’s Children Social Care Service still has a duty to make enquiries to determine whether the child is in need.
  • No referral should ever be prevented or refused on the basis that a parent has not agreed to it.

Access to the SSCB Threshold Framework Guidance ‘Accessing the Right Help at the Right Time’ can be found at:

If you are unhappy with the response you have received from the First Response Service in the M.A.S.H please use the SSCB Escalation procedures