Response and reporting procedure
Responding to initial disclosure of abuse
Although staff are encouraged to be alert to the signs and signals which may indicate that someone is being abused, many incidents will only come to light because the person discloses this themselves. Bear in mind that a disclosure may take place many years after a traumatic event or when someone is afraid, and this should not cast doubt on the person’s truthfulness. The person to whom a disclosure is made may not necessarily be the person to take an investigation forward. So, if you are told about abuse, you must respond sensitively and professionally and pass the information on to your line manager, Safeguarding Champion or Designated Safeguarding Lead Officer as soon as possible, within 24 hours.
If you are concerned that your line manager, Safeguarding Champion or Designated Safeguarding Lead Office is directly implicated or you are concerned about their response, you should follow the PiPOT procedure detailed in Section 2.
If someone discloses abuse to you, you should:
- stay calm and try not to show shock or disbelief
- listen carefully to what they are saying
- be sympathetic ('I am sorry that this has happened to you')
- be aware of the possibility that medical evidence might be needed
Tell the person that:
- they did the right thing to tell you
- you are treating the information seriously
- the alleged abuse was not their fault
- you have to inform the appropriate person
Recognising and reporting abuse
Recognising abuse can be difficult. It is not the role of council staff, elected members, or volunteers to determine whether abuse has occurred or whether someone is at significant risk. Nor are they expected to investigate incidents. However, everyone has a duty to act if they suspect abuse may be taking place.
If there are concerns that abuse has occurred or may occur, all staff, members, and contractors must:
- Report concerns immediately to a line manager, the Designated Safeguarding Lead Officer, or a Safeguarding Champion.
- Consider the immediate safety of the individual involved (e.g., is there a need to contact emergency services?).
- Preserve any evidence, as the situation may involve a criminal offence.
- Record the following information clearly and accurately:
- The nature of the concern
- Date and time of the incident or disclosure
- Name of the individual at risk
- Their account of events, using their own words where possible
- Name of the person alleged to be causing harm (if known)
- The appearance and condition of the individual
- Any visible injuries
- Any third-party allegations
- Any questions asked and responses given
- Whether the concern has been discussed with anyone else
- Your name, the date, and who the record was passed to
- Refer to external agencies where appropriate, in line with safeguarding procedures.
All initial notes and records must be retained. Confidentiality must be strictly maintained; information should only be shared with others on a need-to-know basis.
Reporting safeguarding concerns
The steps to follow for reporting safeguarding concerns are detailed in the following sections and are shown below in the summary flowchart ‘Safeguarding Steps for Tonbridge and Malling District Council Staff’.
Safeguarding steps for council staff
If there is a concern for immediate harm or criminality immediately phone the Police on 999.
Due to the nature of their roles and areas of work, Officers within the Housing team are to complete referrals to the Children's Services Front Door and/or Adult Social Care direct. Staff must inform a Safeguarding Officer or Champion as soon as a referral has been made, and no later than the end of the working day.
1. Verbal disclosures will be accepted by the Safeguarding Officers/Champions under certain circumstances (i.e. no access to referral forms)
2. 999 calls should be logged in the same way as external referrals
3. All concerns must be dealt with by the end of the working day
Pathways for external safeguarding referrals (child and adult)
Before making an external referral, if staff are unsure whether the concern is meeting the threshold, they should discuss their concerns with a Safeguarding Champion or a Designated Safeguarding Officer, who will offer support and provide advice on the next steps to take.
1. Child referrals:
The Kent Children’s Portal (also referred to as the Integrated Front Door) should be used for all safeguarding referrals concerning children at risk of abuse or neglect, or by calling 03000 41 11 11, or by email to social.services@kent.gov.uk.
The decision-making around the most suitable service to meet the needs of children who are referred will be made by the team working in the Front Door.
Urgent referrals outside of office hours that cannot wait until the next working day should be referred to the Out of Hours Team on 03000 41 91 91.
Further information, training, resources and procedures are available from the Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-Agency Partnership website.
2. Adult referrals:
An adult safeguarding referral can be made using the KCC online Report Abuse form, available or by calling 03000 41 61 61 or by email to social.services@kent.gov.uk.
If the adult at risk is already known to Kent County Council, the referral will need to be sent directly to the relevant Case Management Team.
The Central Duty Team on 03000 41 61 61 will be able to confirm if the adult is already known to adult services.
Urgent referrals outside of office hours that cannot wait until the next working day should be referred to the Out of Hours Team on 03000 41 91 91 (5pm – 9am).
Further information, training, resources and procedures are available from the Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board.
It is important to save and download a copy of any completed referral form.
3. Once a referral has been made
Once a referral has been made, a copy of the completed referral form must be sent to a Safeguarding Champion or Designated Safeguarding Lead Officer, who will log details on the council’s internal QES Case Review system.
The exception to this is if the staff member has direct access to QES Case Manager, in which case they should log the information themselves.
If a case has been referred to the Police due to an immediate risk of harm or emergency, the Police crime report number should be noted and placed on file.
All referrals should be completed and updated on QES Case Manager by the end of the working day.
4. Follow-up on referrals
The onus is on the member of staff who made the referral to ensure that Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council fulfils its statutory obligation to receive confirmation from Kent County Council within 72 hours that they have actively considered the referral. If a response on the outcome of the referral is not received within 72 hours of making a referral, the member of staff who made the referral should follow up with the Children’s Front Door service, Adults Central Duty Team, or the relevant Case Management Team if it is an adult referral and the adult is already known to services.
Internal safeguarding notification form
There may be instances where a safeguarding concern is raised that does not meet the threshold for a referral to external services. In these instances, it is still important to log concerns, which may, over time, contribute to a bigger picture.
For this purpose, staff should complete the internal Tonbridge and Malling Council Safeguarding Notification Form. The form is available via the Safeguarding Hub page on StaffNet.
Concerns raised via the Safeguarding Notification Form will be reviewed by a Safeguarding Officer or Champion, who will log the concern on QES Case Manager and provide advice on the next steps to take.
The exception to completing the Internal Notification Form is if the staff member has direct access to QES Case Manager (i.e., Housing team), in which case they should log the information on QES themselves and then inform a Safeguarding Officer or Champion.
The roles of the safeguarding lead officers and champions
The Designated Safeguarding Lead Officers and Safeguarding Champions are responsible for dealing with reports or concerns about the protection of children, young people, and adults at risk.
The Designated Safeguarding Officers and Safeguarding Champions should establish:
- The level of seriousness of the concern (significant harm)
- Any immediate safety needs
- Clarify the facts of the case
- The views of the person concerned and their capacity to consent to action, if known
- Ensure relevant referrals have been made to external agencies
When responding to a safeguarding issue, reference will be made to the Kent Support Levels Guidance Sheet for children and the Threshold Tool for adults to establish the level of need.
Where a member of staff does not have access to the QES Case Manager system, the Designated Safeguarding Officers or Safeguarding Champions have responsibility for adding referrals and concerns to the system.
It is understood that recognising and responding to abuse can be distressing. After concerns are raised, the Designated Safeguarding Officer/Safeguarding Champion will need to consider any support required for themselves or other staff, potentially involving HR or line managers
Multi-Agency Risk Management Framework (MARM)
The MARM is an additional multi-agency process designed to support individuals at high risk of harm who do not meet Section 42 criteria.
It promotes collaborative working, with the person at the centre, to assess and agree on actions that reduce serious harm.
Any agency can initiate a MARM meeting, inviting relevant partners, following the locally developed MARM guidance tools.
Supporting documents, including training materials and case studies, are available via the KMSAB Policies and Procedures website. Kent and Medway SAB - KMSAB Policies and Procedures.
Escalation and challenge policy
If a partner(s) is deemed not to be supporting or carrying out safeguarding functions appropriately, these can be flagged through the KMSAB Escalation and resolving Practitioner Differences Policy for adult safeguarding or the KSCMP Escalation and Professional Challenge Policy for child safeguarding.
Where Designated Safeguarding Officers or other staff are unsure of decisions taken by key partners, these can be flagged through this escalation route.
Information sharing
Information sharing is fundamental to safeguarding and promoting welfare. It enables intervention to tackle problems at an early stage. It is important to ask for consent to share confidential information unless: asking for consent may increase the risk of significant harm or a delay in sharing information may increase the risk of harm. If someone is at risk of suffering significant harm, the law supports you to share information without consent.
Further Government Advice is available: Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers.
The following flowchart should be used by safeguarding officers as a guide to determine when information needs to be shared.
Information sharing flowchart
(Diagram omitted.)
Monitoring and record keeping
The Designated Safeguarding Lead Officer and Safeguarding Champions need to ensure that a record is kept of any concerns about a child, young person or adult at risk and of any conversation or referral to statutory agencies. These details must be saved onto the QES Safeguarding System.
The outcomes of any referral need to be followed up and a record kept of the outcome or any next steps or follow up actions.
Safeguarding task group
The Council has formed an officer level Safeguarding Task Group to carry out the monitoring and review processes who will report to the Council’s Management Team to ensure they are fully informed of safeguarding issues.
The Safeguarding Task Group will ensure the Council stay up to date with Safeguarding knowledge and best practice, remain in touch with relevant external safeguarding groups and pass on information accordingly. The meetings of the Task Group will be chaired by the Safeguarding Lead Officer who will report to the Chief Executive to ensure that the policy and any safeguarding trends are being monitored. A Council Member will also be appointed to act as a Champion for safeguarding.
Monitoring and review of this policy
The Borough Council is committed to monitoring the effectiveness of this policy every 4 years, or sooner if there are significant updates required. Where necessary, we will bring forward reviews and updates, for example, to reflect changes in legislation and advice and feedback from staff who have been involved in dealing with any safeguarding issues which have arisen.