Prompts for making an effective referral to children’s services:

Match your concerns about the child to your Local Safeguarding Children Board/ Local Safeguarding Partners' ‘Threshold document’ sometimes referred to as ‘Responding to need guidance and levels of need framework’.
Have you received consent from the parent or those who have parental responsibility to make this referral to children’s services? Be clear if consent was not given or it was not appropriate to discuss the need to make a referral with the parent/carer.
Provide information about other services/agencies who work with any member of the household. Summarise the family’s engagement with any support provided.
Provide a chronology of concerns over time.
When referring to a specific incident(s) provide unambiguous factual information e.g. dates, times, what the child told you in their own words and the names of any others present during the incident.
Include the child’s wishes and views, your observations of them and what the child wants to happen
Consider: What are you worried about? What is working well? What are the protective factors within the family? What needs to happen next? What are the risks? What outcomes do you want for the child and family?

Ensure you share details about the child and family including:

information about the child (the child’s UPN number and NHS number and the child’s and other siblings' ages, gender, ethnicity, preferred language, special educational needs or disabilities)
who has parental responsibility
who lives in or regularly visits the household and their relationship to the child
if the child or any other family member needs an interpreter or has any other communication difficulties