If you suspect or believe that a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm or any form of mistreatment or abuse, you should report your concerns immediately to CASS.
You can report concerns via the Birmingham Children’s Trust website or call them on the number below.
Telephone: 0121 303 1888 (select Option 2 then Option 2)
Mon – Thurs – 8:45am – 5:15pm
Fri – 8:45am – 4:15pm
Emergency out-of-hours number: 0121 675 4806
To help you decide whether to report a concern you should consult Birmingham’s multi-agency threshold document Right Help, Right Time and speak with your agency’s safeguarding representative.
Please be aware the Early Help Support Team can offer support to lead professionals/practitioners on completing an Early Help Assessment and advise on when a multi-agency ‘Our Family Plan’ can/should be used to achieve positive outcomes for families, they can be contacted on 0121 303 1888 or ehst@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk
If there is no immediate danger you will need to complete a Request for Support form as soon as possible. This form is for professionals who have identified that children or families require either social work assessment or intensive family support.
This short and simple form uses a ‘Signs of Safety and Wellbeing’ approach to identify strengths, highlight concerns and suggest what may need to happen next. The form has been produced with partners, responding to feedback from practitioners and building on current practice, continuing to identify strengths and needs in a family.
Request for Support Form and Guidance
Additional Resources:
For Prevent duty guidance and how to make a referral, visit Birmingham City Council’s Prevent duty webpage.
In the case of children and young people, the National Referral Form also needs to be attached to a Request for Support form and submitted to CASS in the normal way.
Follow the guidance on the Birmingham Children’s Trust website on how to complete a Request for Support form.