What if I do not agree with children’s services decision not to accept my referral and begin a child protection enquiry or statutory child in need assessment?

You should always receive a rationale from the social worker, most often in writing, as to why your referral has not been accepted.

If you do not agree you should follow your Local Safeguarding Children Board/ Local Safeguarding Partners' Escalation and Resolution Procedures which can be found on their website for example: Liverpool, Knowsley, and Wirral.

You will typically need to speak to your line manager, and then the line manager, team leader and service manager in the other agency.

It’s important to remember that a number of serious case reviews locally and nationally have pointed to the absence of effective escalation and resolution when there was professional disagreement. Given this, it is important to remember to focus discussions on the needs of the child and the need to ensure positive outcomes for the child and family.