Multi Agency Safeguarding
A Good Practice Framework for
London
Hackney Partnership Triage
What did we want?
• A whole family approach to
safeguarding
• No ‘wasted’ information
• Democratisation of safeguarding
Hackney Partnership Triage
What did we find?
• Some knowledge/service gaps
• Need for specialised staff training
• Need for common understanding of risk
and vulnerability
• Right people are key
Hackney Partnership Triage
Where are we going?
One Front Door
• Checks for gang links, MAT,
Partnership Panel, PSRs
• Involvement of health visitors, midwives
and GPs
• Involvement of probation
The vision
‘to identify and make safe at the
earliest opportunity all vulnerable
people in our communities through the
sharing of information and intelligence
across the safeguarding partnership’
Why develop the MASH
• General acceptance, nationally and
locally that poor information sharing was
a problem.
– Lord Laming’s recommendations resulting
from the Victoria Climbié case
– Lessons from serious case reviews
– Outcomes from Devon’s Safeguarding
Children’s Board multi-agency audits
MASH – Why and what for
• MASH was established to;
• Early identification and understanding of risk
(Children and adults)
• Victim identification and intervention
• Harm identification and reduction through
analysis
• Enable resources to be targeted against true
harm.
What MASH does in Devon
• Manages Police Child Concern referrals
• Contact and referrals to Early Years and
Families
• Liaison with Early Response Service to
meet Children’s Social Care needs that
do not require a social care assessment
at level 3.
• Identifies harm to individuals and in
communities
Enquiry from
professional
121a
Enquiry from
public
MASH Enquiry
Triaging
Health & Mental
Health
Probation
Youth Offending
Team
MASH
Children‘s
Social Services
Education
Police
Early Years
Decision
Social Care Manager
s.47
s.17
CAF/
ERS
Info
only
What Now?
• Developing analysis to identify harm and vulnerability by
Individual, family and location Recurring re-enquiries!
Cameron’s 120000 most needy children.
• MASH Family Profiles meeting. Early Intervention – Do
we target the right families? Do they consent to
services? Consent vs service redesign?
• Currently working to develop links with
– MARAC, MAPPA, IOM, Missing Children investigation and
intervention, ASB, Teenage pregnancy, prevent pathways
This preliminary work has identified themes
for development and implementation…
Communication and Risk
Assessment
Front door for
Children’s Services
Co-locate professionals to
manage problems
Increased benefits and
outcomes for
vulnerable people
Consideration of Adults
Co-location of professionals to
identify risk and manage
interventions
…each theme has good practice identified, which
can be shared to build a common process
Common process for London:
Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub
Key steps needed for success:
•Process for London, incorporating good practice themes into a common
process
•Front door for all child referrals
•Co-located professionals and data to identify risk – building the full picture
on the child
•Firewall – allows the necessary tension between privacy and sharing
information for safety to be exercised in a secure environment. Ownership
of information retained by the each agency. Encourages Health to share
•Decision making process based on the full picture – better targeting of
resources to those most in need. Problem solving the causes of
vulnerability
•Streamlines services, reduces duplication
•Potential adult pathway
MASH thematic
Lambeth
Barnet
Police
referral
CYPS
Referral
Co-located
PPD
Sutton
Adult
Pathway
Islington
Tower
Hamlets
Front door
Westminster
Croydon
Build full picture
Haringey
Hackney
Assess the risk
Decide best intervention
firewall
Intervention to best solve problem
MASH
Co-located,
social work
led multi
agency team
Next Steps:
• London
• Nationally
Police
CYPS
Adults
initial risk assessment/enquiries
Police
CYPS
Health
Mental
Housing Education Probation Others?
Health
DECISION
Analyst/Researcher
By statutory
manager
sanitised
assessed
product
NFA
For info
firewall
Action hand off to the most
appropriate agency
proble
m
solvin
g
taskin
g
Emerging issues