Guide to threshold and practice: information for professionals

A guide to thresholds and practice for working with children and families in Waltham Forest.

We have developed a single front door into early help and children's social care.

If a child is at immediate risk of harm please use the emergency number 999 or contact your local police on 101.

In order to ensure that families receive the right help at the right time, a request for help and support or protection should be completed when:

• As a professional, if you believe a child and their family may need some additional support, please discuss this with them first. You should agree who is best placed to provide that support. It is good practice to try to get a full picture of what is going on with a family and an early help assessment is the tool to help with this. Sometimes it may be that a family needs some support more quickly and there are a number of support services available within early help that can assist before, during and after an early help assessment has been completed. The help and support part of the request form can be used for this.
• A child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm or have any other child protection concerns. In this case please contact the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) team to discuss your concerns, and follow up in writing on the protection part of the single multi agency request form Safeguarding is the process of making sure vulnerable children, young people and adults are protected from being abused, neglected and exploited.

Waltham Forest guide to thresholds and practice for working with children and families in Waltham Forest is the multi-agency document that sets out our vision and values, and the role and responsibilities of all agencies to work together so that every child in the borough has the best possible outcomes. Professionals should refer to the guide before making a referral to the Mash team.

The Guide has been developed to help practitioners understand and apply our approach to working with children, families and communities in Waltham Forest. It sets out our vision and values, and the role and responsibilities of all agencies to work together so that every child in the borough has the best possible outcomes

There are resources for all agencies to use to embed the guidance. Please download and disseminate throughout your organisation the:

• A guide to thresholds and practice for working with children and families in Waltham Forest (PDF)
• bitesize guide video for front line practitioners 

Training slides are available from the Strategic Partnerships Unit to use as alongside your own agencies safeguarding training. Please contact Zahra.Jones@walthamforest.gov.uk