Keeping children safe

Raise a concern about a child

If you are worried about the safety of a child or young person, find out who to contact and how.

Report concerns about a child

If you believe a child is in immediate danger you should phone the police. Call 999.

What to do if you suspect a child is at risk

If you are worried about a child or young person, let us know as soon as possible. The easiest way is to complete our online form with your concerns.

Tell us as much as you can about the situation or what you have witnessed to help us understand and support the child. You can leave your name and contact details, or you can report anonymously. If you tell us who you are, we may be able to help the child more quickly, by contacting you if we need more information.

Report a concern about a child

If you are unsure that a child or young person at risk or has been abused, it’s still OK to report your concerns. Our team will review what you have told us and decide what to do next.

Alternative ways to report

If you'd rather talk through your concerns, you can contact the Brent Family Front Door:

Office hours (Mon – Fri 9am - 5pm): Call 020 8937 4300 (option 1)
Outside office hours: Call our emergency duty team on 020 8863 5250

If you do not feel comfortable talking to us, you can also speak to a police officer, teacher, health visitor, doctor or the NSPCC.

The most important thing is to speak to someone who can help.

Make a professional safeguarding referral

If you are work or volunteer with children, please complete the Children's Social Care referral form to make referrals for children in need and/or child protection concerns.

What to report

Child abuse can take different forms and includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect. You can read more about the different types of child abuse and how to spot the signs, on the NSPCC website.

What happens when you report child abuse

We treat all information seriously and act on what you tell us.

Our first priority is to make sure that the child is safe. We may:

check the records we already hold
gather new information
speak to the child and family to help assess the situation.

If extra help is needed to support a family in looking after their child safely, our service teams will work together and plan how best to provide this.

We will contact you again to let you know that we have taken the appropriate action.

For further advice and information, visit the Brent Safeguarding Partnerships website.

The child protection process

We aim to keep children with their families whenever possible. Working closely with partner agencies, we focus on early intervention and prevention to reduce the risk of family breakdown.

For more details on our approach and policies, visit our Safeguarding Partnerships website.

Understanding the process

When a concern is raised about a child, our first priority is to make sure they are safe. We begin with an initial assessment to help decide what support may be needed.

We work in partnership with families and always aim to respect their views. While it may not always seem necessary, a social worker may become involved if there are child protection concerns, as we have a legal duty to help resolve any issues.

If there’s no immediate risk but support is needed, we can offer advice, practical help, or involve other services such as mediation, counselling or workshops.

Steps that may be taken

If there is a risk to a child or young person, the process can vary depending on each family's situation, but it generally follows a series of actions to help us understand what support may be needed.

Child protection enquiry

If we’re concerned that a child may be at risk or experiencing harm, we’ll begin a child protection enquiry to make sure they’re safe and supported. This involves:

Gathering information: We’ll speak with family members and professionals, such as teachers or doctors, to understand the situation and what support may be needed.
Talking with your child: A social worker may speak with the child in a calm and friendly setting. These conversations are handled with care by specially trained staff who aim to make children feel safe and at ease.
Medical checks (if needed): If we believe a child may be injured or needs medical attention, we’ll usually ask for the parent(s) or guardian's permission first. They can attend the appointment with the child to offer support. If permission isn’t given, we may need to seek legal advice and apply to the courts.

Once we’ve gathered all the information, we’ll talk with you about what happens next.

If there are ongoing concerns, we may arrange a child protection conference to explore the best ways to support your child and family.

Child protection case conference

A child protection case conference is a meeting to talk about a child and their safety and welfare.

The purpose of the conference is to:

share information gathered during the initial enquiry
decide whether your child is at continuing risk of significant harm and therefore in need of protection
agree an outline child protection plan that sets out the actions necessary to reduce the risk to your child.

Attending the meeting will be:

parents or carers of the child
any workers involved with the family such as teachers, doctors, school nurses, social workers and health visitors
the child may attend if it is felt appropriate
the Chair who will direct the meeting and make sure that everyone has a chance to speak during the meeting.

The Chair will also meet you prior to the start of the conference to explain the process and talk about any concerns. You can also make sure they know what you want to say.

It is important that you share your views during the conference, as they will inform the decisions that we make.

You can bring someone to the conference to support you - normally called an 'advocate' - if you think it would help.

Read our information leaflet to find out more about what happens during a child protection conference

Creating a child protection plan

The people that attend the child protection conference will come up with a plan to protect you child and provide support to your family.

The child protection plan explains what needs to happen and who will be responsible for these actions in order to keep your child safe. It is important that you work with the different agencies to improve your child’s wellbeing.

What happens next?

Once the plan is in place, there will be regular meetings called Core Group Meetings to make sure that the actions are being completed.

After three months (and then every six months if needed) a review child protection conference will be arranged. If your team think that your child is no longer at risk, then they will remove the child protection plan, although you may still receive support from us and the other agencies.

Feedback and complaints

If you are unhappy with the way in which you or your child has been treated you can complain. Take a look at the support that is available and what steps to take, if you are considering making a complaint.