Reporting a Concern
If you are concerned about a child or young person’s welfare (under 18 or under 25 if they have a special educational need or disability) or worried they are being abused, you can make a referral to:
If the child lives in Dorset this is the Family Support and Advice Line via 01305 228558
For emergencies people should continue to call 999.
During the day, from 8am till 10pm, callers will be directed to experienced practitioners who can often give support and guidance there and then. Out of these hours, it is answered by Dorset Direct who will decide whether it needs to be referred to the out of hours team.
The Family Support and Advice Line brings together the Dorset Education Advice Line (DEAL), the Children’s Advice and Duty Service (ChAD), the Family Help Hub (FHH), and Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) together as part of Dorset Council’s work under the Families First for Children Pathfinder. It is the single point of contact and acts as a ‘front door’ for all safeguarding concerns and family help requests for support (previously early help).
In an emergency, or if you believe a child is at immediate risk of harm, call the police on 999.
For further information please see Worried about a child – Dorset Council
To inform your request for support, please refer to the following local documents:
Dorset Continuum of Need Guidance – Updated May 2025
Levels of Vulnerability and Need
If you make your assessment using the Pan-Dorset Continuum of Need and feel your concerns aren’t being responded to appropriately, please refer to the Escalation Policy
What is a child?
In the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, a child is anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday.
The fact that a child has reached 16 years of age, is living independently or is in further education, is a member of the armed forces, is in hospital, in prison or in a Young Offenders’ Institution does not change his or her entitlement to services or protection.
The Family Support and Advice Line will also review requests for support for young people under the age of 25 where they have a special educational need or disability.
Safeguarding is:
- protecting children from maltreatment, whether the risk of harm comes from within the child’s family and/or outside (from the wider community), including online
- preventing impairment of children’s health or development
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
Child Protection is:
- a part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. This refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are at risk of suffering, significant harm
- child protection is essential as part of wider work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. However, all agencies and individuals should aim proactively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children so that the need for action to protect children from harm is reduced
A child is ‘in need’ if:
- He/she is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him/her of services by a local authority;
- His/her health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him/her of such services; or
- He/she is a Disabled Child.
Making a Request for support
If you have concerns about a child or children that do not already have an allocated worker, you should discuss this with your manager or named designated member of staff. If you still have concerns you should initially discuss your concerns with the child’s parent/carer, unless you believe that doing so could increase to risk of harm to the child or another person. If you remain concerned after discussing your concerns with the family you or your manager should:
- If you live in Dorset– Contact the Family Support and Advice Line by telephone on 01305 228558. You should have sought consent from the family prior to contacting the Family Support and Advice Line unless you believe the child is at risk of harm. All phone calls will be confirmed in writing by the consultant social worker, but it is also best practice that you keep a record of the contact you have made, the discussion and any decisions made. You should also record whether you have obtained parental consent and if not, why not.
Discussing your referral with parents
- In general, practitioners working directly with children and their families (e.g. play workers, Sports Coaches) should seek to discuss their concerns with the child and/or their parents and seek their agreement to making contact with Children’s Services.
- If such a discussion would place the child at an increased risk of harm then this discussion should not take place and the request made without the knowledge of the parents.
Raise awareness by downloading and displaying our posters:
Child Disclosure Poster : The 5 Rs
