How to Raise a Concern

Please be advised that the MASH no longer accepts written referrals including NSCB1 forms. The new process is explained below.

Children’s Advice and Duty Service

If you are a professional, i.e. working with a child or young person in a formal or voluntary setting and not a family member or member of the public, you can contact the Children’s Advice and Duty Service on their direct line: 0344 800 8021.

If you are a member of the public you can do this through Norfolk County Council’s Customer Services on 0344 800 8020.

For any call raising concerns about a child, the Children’s Advice and Duty Service will ask for:

all of the details known to you/your agency about the child;
their family composition including siblings, and where possible extended family members and anyone important in the child’s life;
the nature of the concern and how immediate it is;
Any and what kind of work/support you have provided to the child or family to date.

They will also need to know where the child is now and whether you have informed parents/carers of your concern.

Notice to Callers:

Preparing for the conversation: please see the tools developed by the Children’s Advice and Duty Service to support communication. This includes, FAQs and a flow chart. Please remember to record your concerns for your internal audit trail.
Consent: Please can you ensure you seek consent for the referrals unless the concerns being raised suggest that the child/children or someone else (including the referrer) would be placed at risk of significant harm, or it might undermine a criminal investigation if the parents/carers are informed. Reasons for not seeking consent should be clearly stated when speaking with Children’s Advice and Duty Service and recorded on internal systems for your records.

For more information see the Norfolk Threshold Guide.

For information about the LADO, see the top of the left hand menu or click here.

For information about Child Protection and Contextual Safeguarding Conferences, see the top of the left hand menu or click here.