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Report a concern about a child or young person

If you have a concern that a child is vulnerable or at risk of significant harm, please contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) in York.

The MASH is a multi-agency team made up of representatives from a range of services, including Social Care, Early Help, Police and Health Professionals and is a single point of contact for all concerns about children. This partnership approach will make it easier to get children, young people and families to get the right level of support as quickly as possible.

Referrals on situations that are not immediately urgent should be made by completing the MASH referral form, which can be returned by email to: [email protected]. If you need advice on completing the MASH Referral Form, please speak with the Safeguarding Lead within your own organisation.

See our CYSCP screening tools.

Referrals on situations that are not immediately urgent should be made by completing the MASH referral form, which can be returned by email to: [email protected].

Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub contact information:

  • Phone: 01904 551900
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Address: MASH, West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA

Outside office hours, at weekends and on public holidays contact the Emergency Duty Team on telephone: 0300 131 2131

If you are a member of the public who wants to speak to someone about your own family or a family you know, you can contact the MASH using these contact details.

When contacting the MASH via telephone, you will be offered several options depending on your request:

  • if you know the name of the person you would like to speak to, press 1
  • if you are calling regarding a family you know, is open to a social worker or child and family support practitioner, press 2
  • if you are calling regarding an early help referral, press 4
  • if you are calling regarding urgent child safeguarding concerns, press 5

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If you are a professional working with a family and need to make a referral to the MASH, please complete the MASH referral form, which can be returned by email to: [email protected].

If the family have been supported by Early Help, please also provide a copy of this with the referral form including the reviews and action plans, evidencing that the support has affected no change. The Social Worker can then review this as part of their initial assessment process.

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Requests for information must be sent to email: [email protected].

Please ensure you include in your request:

  • the purpose of your request, and;
  • whether you have obtained consent of the person you are seeking the information about, or;
  • under what lawful duty we need to share this information

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The threshold document is a guide and a starting point to provide help and guidance to practitioners at all levels, working in the statutory, public, voluntary and independent sectors who work with children and their families. It allows practitioners to identify levels of need and risk through the use of indicators related to outcomes. It also supports practitioners in determining how their service can best support and work alongside children.

The MASH and wider children’s services use various tools to identify the most appropriate level of support. One of these tools will be the Levels of Need descriptors, within the CYSCP Threshold Document.

When working with a child, young person or family you should use this to help identify the most appropriate support for them

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It is important that services in the City of York work alongside families. It is crucial that organisations adopt a ‘working with’ and not ‘doing to’ approach, when working with families and seek to build family resilience. The importance of engaging children, young people, and families from the outset and of securing their consent to work with the child and family is crucial to ensure long term improved outcomes for children.

Child protection concerns are the exception to this. In this circumstance the practitioner should respond in line with safeguarding guidance procedures, such as children who are at risk of exploitation, fabricated and induced illness (FII), unborn and non-mobile baby protocol.

Where consent has not been obtained, and professionals feel that after speaking with their safeguarding lead/manager that a referral is still warranted, professionals should submit a referral detailing their actions and inform the parent and carer of their actions.

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The information you provide is shared to the MASH.

MASH is a multi-agency team made up of representatives from a range of services, including:

  • social care
  • Early Help
  • the police
  • health professionals

Following a referral, the MASH team come together to review and share information sent to them. They use their professional judgement and also the threshold document, to enable them to make right decision at the right time for a child. This partnership approach will make it easier to get children, young people and families to get the right level of support as quickly as possible.

In order for MASH to efficiently make decision, you must ensure that all relevant information, including parental consent or clear reasons why this has not been obtained, is provided to ensure that the referral can be progressed as effectively as possible.

You will be notified via email of the outcome of your referral via a MASH referral response form.

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Early Help is a collaboration not a service.

In its simplest terms everyone is involved in the delivery of early help. This includes:

  • families
  • communities
  • voluntary groups
  • universal provision
  • schools
  • health

Many universal agencies will use service specific tools to identify, assess and respond to need. However in order to support our city-wide approach to Early Help and joint working, partner agencies have produced common guidance and tools.

Where the needs of a child or family meet those of Level 2, according to the Threshold Document, involved professionals should initiate an Early Help Assessment to explore what further support is required from a single agency or from a team around a child or family.

Where the needs of a child or family meet those of Level 3, according to the Threshold Document, involved professionals should initiate an Early Help Assessment to explore what further support is required. It may be that there is a role for the Targeted Intervention Service and it should be considered whether a referral is needed to explore this.

Where you feel the family needs can be supported at an Early Help level, you can speak with a MASH Early Help Coordinator who can provide advice and support about Early Help assessments, processes, and interventions.

If making a referral for targeted Early Help support, please submit a completed Early Help assessment to email: [email protected].

The MASH need you to submit a completed Early Help assessment because you are best placed to provide the information regarding the current support in place and any currently unmet needs requiring targeted support, so that they can make a timely, proportionate and effective decision about what help and support the child and their parents or carers need.

See our Early Help and safeguarding page, which includes the Early Help assessment tool and other documentation.

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If you have a concern or allegation about a professional (including volunteers) who works with children and young people and the way they have behaved towards a child, you need to contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

See allegations against childcare workers - advice for professionals, or allegations against childcare workers - advice for parents for the LADO contact details.

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The North Yorkshire and City of York Partnership Information Sharing Form can be used if you think you have information to share with the police about situations in which children, young people or adults may be vulnerable to exploitation.

If someone is at risk of immediate harm you need to call 999.

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