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Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

A hub to improve the safeguarding response for children and young people iDudley mash logon Dudley.

The Dudley Children and Young People’s Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) brings together key professionals from organisations across the borough. 

 

How to make a referral

Dudley’s Support Level Guidance and Framework aims to help agencies identify a child’s need
and respond with the approach of “the right support at the right time” that facilitates early discussion with parents and carers to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and
young people when worries and concerns emerge.

All organisations, agencies and individuals who work with children and young people in Dudley, including those whose work with adults brings them into contact with children and young people should understand these levels. 

The online Request for Help and Support Form are available via the Children’s Services Portal site. 

Referrals should be made based on the level of threshold: 

The Request for Help and Support Form is an online form on the Dudley Children’s Portal for referring safeguarding concerns regarding children and young people.

Please complete the form online via the Dudley Children’s Portal site to send it to the single point of access team.

In addition you can contact MASH on 0300 555 0050.

Level 1 – No referral is required. Professionals should contact Dudley’s Family information Service on 01384 814398 to obtain information about support available for children, young people and families.

Level 2 – Partner agencies should complete their own internal assessment as appropriate and forward this to the relevant Family Centre. Alternatively, an Early Help Assessment can be completed and forwarded to the appropriate Family Centre Cluster.

Level 3 – Referrals should be made by completing an Early Help Assessment and forwarding it to the appropriate Family Centre Cluster.

View more information on Dudley Early Help.

Further Information

The Children and Young People’s MASH includes staff from Dudley Council’s children’s social care, as well as:

  • Police
  • Education
  • Health
  • Probation
  • Housing
  • Early Help
  • Young people’s services
  • Women’s Aid
  • CSE
  • Drug and Alcohol services.

Working together to protect and safeguard children and young people. We knew there were inconsistencies in how information was gathered and how long it could take for decisions to be made. The MASH has changed all that.

Working together, under one roof, partner agencies are able to securely share relevant information they have on the child/family who has been referred and then swiftly decide on the best course of action to take.

This multi-agency working is key to early and effective identification of risk, improved information sharing, joint decision-making and co-ordinated action, leading to improved outcomes.

The MASH:

  • Acts as a single point of entry for safeguarding referrals
  • Triages referrals
  • Enables thorough research of each case to identify potential risk
  • Shares information between agencies
  • Facilitates early intervention – to prevent the need for more intensive interventions at a later stage
  • Manages cases through co-ordinated interventions.