Worried about a child? (information for professionals)
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Safeguarding children is everybody’s responsibility. All professionals who work with children have a responsibility to safeguard them and to know how to seek help when things are not quite right or when difficulties arise.
It is important to act fast if you suspect abuse as some signs of abuse can disappear quickly.
If you are a professional and you have concerns about a child you are working with who lives in Kensington and Chelsea, you should discuss this with the family and make your referral to the Early Help Team or to Family Services as appropriate.
If you are concerned a child is at immediate risk of harm you should call the relevant social work locality team. If you are not sure which team the referral should be sent to, please call the Social Services line listed above and they will help direct your referral to the correct team depending on the family’s address.
If you are worried that someone is in immediate danger please call 999.
If you are worried that a child or young person is at immediate risk, please contact the 'Assessment and Access Team' immediately on 020 7361 3013.
Out of Hours (5pm – 9am and weekends): Please contact the 'Emergency Duty Team' on 020 7373 2227, or email: [email protected]
Social Services Line provides a single point of contact for professionals and members of the public who want to seek support or raise concerns about a child and pass on your concerns to the correct social work team who will listen, assess your concerns, and can take action if a child is at risk.
If you're not sure whether a child is at risk you can discuss the circumstances with the Early Help Service (contact details below) or with someone else who works with children, such as a teacher, health visitor or the NSPCC.
To refer a child to the Kensington and Chelsea Early Help Family Hub, visit the sections below:
Early Help Service for families when difficulties first start
If you have concers about a child who is not in immediate danger and you would like to discuss with a member of the Early Help team, you may reach a member of the team on:
Tel: 020 7598 4601 or 020 7361 4129
Email: [email protected]
For further information about the help and support available for families visit Early Help and family support.
Please download here the Early Help leaflet or the Early Help model of support guide
How can I refer a child to the Early Help Team?
Before making a referral, please ensure that the child or children and their family live in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, you can do this by completing a postcode check available on GOV.UK.
To complete a referral, use the link below to visit the Social Care Portal where you will be asked to complete the Early Help Family Hub Referral form. Please take time to read the important information below prior to submitting a referral.
Please note, the Social Care Portal is a new digital solution which has replaced our previous referral document.
In the unlikely event that you experience any difficulties when trying to submit a referral, please get in touch with us directly by calling on 020 7598 4601 or 020 7361 4129.
Completing the Early Help Family Hub referral form
Before you start
Please ensure that you have obtained agreement from the parent(s) to make this referral. Only referrals for statutory school attendance concerns can be accepted without prior agreement from the parent(s).
For security reasons, we advise against using a public computer to complete the form, as it may expose your personal details or those of the person(s) you are referring.
Please be aware that if there is no activity on the form for more than 20 minutes, any progress will be lost and you will need to start the form again.
Some sections of the referral form are mandatory to complete. This is to ensure that we receive all the information we need for a referral to be processed.
If the referral is related to school attendance, you will be asked to attach a school attendance report in one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .jpg, .png, .jpeg, .gif.
After completion
After completion, make sure to click the 'Submit' button. You will then have an opportunity to save, print and/or download a copy of the form.
To protect personal information, please click the 'Close' button and close the browser completely after printing the form.
An email notification with a copy of the submitted referral form will also be sent to the email address you provided in the referrer’s section. If you do not see the email in your inbox, please check your Junk/Spam mailbox.
What happens next
Family support referrals are processed and allocated to an early help practitioner within five working days. Your allocated practitioner will contact to discuss your referral.
Fill in the Early Help referral form
Children with special and complex needs
For children with special and complex needs please refer to the RBKC Local Offer an online directory of information and services to support children and young people (from 0 to 25 years) who have special educational needs and disabilities.