Report a concern about a child

If you are a member of the public and have concerns about a childs welfare, or feel that they may be being abused or neglected, please call the Integrated Access and Referral Team (iART) or the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) for help and advice. Alternatively you can call the police.

Alternatively call Cheshire Police: 101 for non-emergencies or 999 in an emergency.

Please note, if you are a professional sharing a concern the iART criteria has been reviewed as of 2 October 2018 - see below for advice and guidance.

Please do not send a referral without first discussing the referral with the Integrated Access and Referral Team (i-ART).

Integrated access and referral team (iART)

• Email: i-ART@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
• Opening hours:
  • Monday to Thursday: 8.30am until 5pm
  • Friday: 8.30am until 4.30pm
• Telephone: 0300 123 7047

Purpose of iART:

The reviewed iART criteria aligns with the well-established Cheshire West and Chester Continuum of Need and outlines the role of the Integrated Access and Referral Team (iART) as follows:

1. To receive evidence based referrals for children in need of social work led intervention because there is a risk of significant harm to a child.
2. To provide advice on request for cases at Partnership Plus on the continuum of need where a TAF is not achieving outcomes or the case is on the point of escalating to enable a package of support from Early Help and Prevention Service (formerly IES).
3. To receive and respond to statutory notifications.

This means that in the absence of an SCP endorsed early help assessment (Team Around the Family being recommended and progressed) and an evidenced based referral which is supported by the use of an evidence based assessment tool, contacts will not be accepted into iART, with the exception of those that clearly meet threshold for statutory social work intervention.

The expectation is that professionals work with families to offer evidence based early support at the earliest possible time.

Please note, the link to the Multi-agency referral form goes directly through to the iART team during working hours and will not be picked up by the Emergency Duty Team.

Important notes

Emergency referrals should be telephoned through to the above numbers as appropriate.

Do not send any personal information about specific children or young people via the ordinary email addresses provided above but please ensure you use the electronic Multi-Agency Referral Form to send details of your referral.

As a professional contacting iART you have a responsibility to secure consent from families and/or individuals to confirm they are happy for their information to be shared. The law is clear consent must be specific, informed and freely given. On contacting iART a member of the team will explore this with you. There are some exceptions to this, for example if someone is at significant risk or to prevent crime and disorder. Please contact iART for advice if you are unsure.

The Council privacy notice provides information about how agencies in West Cheshire may use personal information. All agencies have to tell people how they might use information provided and give the choice to say yes or no to using that information. Professionals must share a copy of the privacy notice at every first visit and record this on eTAF.

Further information

Further information can be found on the Cheshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership website.