Children and Families, Contact Swindon
What do MASH do?
When a concern about a child is reported to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), the team assesses the risk to the child and determines the best course of action to protect them.
To make informed decisions, the team gathers and shares information with partner agencies, children and their families. The most appropriate intervention is agreed upon based on the child or young person’s identified needs.
If information is received about a child already in the social care system, it will be directed to their allocated social worker.
How does MASH carry out their work?
When a concern is raised, a MASH enquiry is created to gather relevant information. The enquiry involves:
- collecting information from MASH partner agencies, such as Police, health services, social care and early help teams
- consulting external agencies, including probation services and schools
The team typically speaks with parents and professionals working with the child and family. In some cases, they may speak directly with the child or young person to decide the next steps.
Parental consent
- Informing parents
- Professionals are expected to inform parents when making a referral to MASH and share a copy of the referral with the family. Exceptions apply if this would place the child at risk of significant harm.
- Seeking permission
- In most cases, MASH seeks parents’ permission to speak with other agencies unless doing so could endanger the child
- Advice for professionals
- MASH offers guidance to professionals on handling consent
Decision-making process
The MASH team determines the appropriate course of action, which may include:
- a referral to children’s social care if the threshold for involvement is met
- a referral to early help services if the concerns do not meet the threshold for social care involvement
All concerns reported to MASH are screened by a social care lead decision-maker and decisions are made based on urgency:
- Urgent concerns
- A decision is made within four hours
- Lower-level concerns
- A decision is made within three days
The child, their family and the referrer will be informed in writing about the outcome of the MASH enquiry.