If you are concerned that a child or young person is being abused please refer your concerns to Wigan Children's Duty Team.

If you are a member of the community please telephone 01942 828300. Outside office hours please contact 0161 834 2436.

If you are a professional working with the child / family, complete the Professional Referral Form, which can be downloaded from the left hand navigation button entitled 'Professional Referral Form'. Please then add the consent form and if completed, a CAF, together with any other assessments completed, and either fax to 01942 828320, or send by post to Ince Annexe, Ince Town Hall, Ince, Wigan.

REFERRAL TO CHILDREN’S SOCIAL CARE SERVICES

(A) Child in Need Referral – the referral form must include the written consent of the person with parental responsibility for the child/ren for the sharing of information with other agencies.

(B) Child Protection Referral – All child protection referrals must be discussed with the Duty Officer, at the time the concerns come to light. The referral form must be completed subsequently and sent to the Duty Officer within 48 hours of the verbal referral having been made. It is good practice to seek the consent of parents / carers before making a referral unless to do so would increase the risk of immediate harm to the child. If consent is refused the referrer should discuss this with the Duty Officer at the point of referral. The exceptions to seeking consent will be any referral where Sexual Abuse or Fabricated and Induced Illness is suspected, in this instance there should be no discussion with family prior to referral to Duty Officer.

What is a child protection Referral?

Section 47(1) of the Children act 1989 states that: Where a local authority have reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, the authority shall make, or cause to be made, such enquiries as they consider necessary to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard
or promote the child’s welfare.

If you are working with a child or young person for whom a CAF assessment (Common Assessment Framework) has already been fully completed, you can attach the completed CAF.

It is your responsibility to ensure that all of the basic information required is included as part of your referral, either on this form or in the completed CAF. Failure to do so will cause delay for the family.

• Professional Referral Form