Safeguarding children
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility.
- Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
- Preventing harm to children's health and development
- Providing support to meet children's needs when problems emerge
- Ensuring children grow up with safe and effective care, within their family where possible
- It's important to take action to make sure that all babies, children and young people have the best outcomes
- Physical abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Neglect
If you have concerns that a child could be at risk of abuse or neglect, then you will need to report this to your local authority.
If the person you're concerned about is in immediate danger, call the police on 999, or call them on 101 if it's less urgent.
The best way to do this is to report it to your local authority. They can then assess the concern and decide on the best course of action.
- Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) - Hampshire County Council
- Report a concern about a child - Southampton City Council
- Keeping children safe - Portsmouth City Council
- Reporting Concerns - Sussex Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and Procedures Resource
- Report a concern about a child or young person - Surrey County Council
Many parents find it hard to cope at times. If you are concerned about your own child or children, you can also access support via your local authority. You could also speak to a health visitor, education or childcare setting, family doctor or any professional that you know. If you ever feel that you may harm your own child, you should talk to someone about it. If you feel that this is an emergency, please call 999 immediately.
If the child is living in a VIVID home, you can also let us know that you have shared the information with the local authority – there may be action that we can take to support the child, family or community based on the concerns raised. You can contact us via Customer Experience.
