www.surreycc.gov.uk
Making Surrey a better place
Children’s Services Threshold
Document
Safeguarding Children Unit
Introduction:
The document attached is intended to provide guidance to professionals as to the eligibility criteria for
a referral to Children’s Services. This document follows a period of consultation with partner
agencies, undertaken through the Area Safeguarding Groups.
Children’s Social Care would expect to be involved, where a referral meets Levels of need 3, or 4.
Level 2 need, would be met through targeted support from a range of partner agencies: Health
Visitors; Home School Link Workers; Children’s Centres; Youth Support Service; Education Welfare
and School Inclusion Services and Voluntary Organisations. If you are unsure whether a referral
meets Level 2, or meets the threshold for a Children’s Social care Service, then it would be
appropriate to complete a CAF. See here for details of the CAF process in Surrey.
Inevitably, defining eligibility criteria for a Children’s Social Care service raises the issue as to meet
those needs identified as outside Children’s Social Care remit. This document will need to be
combined with those of other agencies and a combination of partner services will need to collaborate
to provide targeted services.
It is hoped that this document can be used to generate discussion on how best to combine efforts to
develop early help provision through threshold workshops and partnership projects locally. The
directorate proposes to re-launch its’ Preventative Approach, as part of the Change Programme’s
Early Help project.
For a comprehensive list of available services visit the Family Information Service (FIS) webpages.
Level 1:
Children and Young People
with no identified additional
needs that can be met by
personalised universal services
Level 2:
Level 3:
This level refers to those This refers to children and
children and young people young people with complex
who may be considered needs.
Children in this
vulnerable and in need of category are likely to meet the
support services.
Children threshold for social work
and young people at this level assessment and time-limited
frequently require time-limited intervention through a child
targeted intervention at a level in need service.
below the threshold for a
Children’s Social Care service
Level 4:
This refers to acute need that
will have a significant impact
upon the child, or young
person’s safety and well-being.
It will most commonly include
children at risk of suffering
actual, or likely significant harm
associated with abuse, or
severe neglect.
 Children who are receiving  Children on the threshold of  A child, or children suffering actual,
inadequate parenting that is
needing to be looked after by the
or at risk of suffering harm, as a
having an effect upon their
Local Authority, or needing to be
result of disclosures of physical,
development and preventing
looked after by someone other
sexual and emotional abuse
them reaching their full potential.
than their normal care-giver due
This
would
include
poor
to family breakdown
 Severe neglect of a child that, will
implementation of boundaries,
if continued, lead to significant
poor stimulation, low level  Pre-birth assessments where
harm: failure to attend essential
concerns in respect of support to
there are concerns for the wellhealth appointments for a longtheir education and health, low
being of a newborn child, as a
term medical condition; severely
level concerns for hygiene and
result of substance misuse,
unhygienic home conditions;
diet.
parental mental health problems,
parenting resulting in a failure to
domestic abuse, very young
thrive, and failure to adequately
 Children whose parents are
parents with minimal extended
supervise, with the result that a
undergoing a separation that is
family support and young people
child is placed at risk of significant
causing emotional distress, is
who were previously Looked
harm.
preventing
them
having
After by the Local Authority and
 Neglect that will result in significant
unhindered contact with one
have limited support.
harm, as a result of the chaotic,
parent and having an impact
prolonged and/or excessive
upon their ability to reach their  Situations of serious, or ongoing
substance misuse, by parent(s), or
full potential
domestic abuse, which will have
care-giver(s)
a detrimental effect upon the
child’s physical and emotional
 Children where there has been
well-being
an incident, or incidents of
domestic abuse; however there
are sufficient protective factors  Situations where there are
in place to reduce the likelihood
concerns about ongoing parental
of ongoing domestic abuse and
substance misuse, that is likely
its’ impact upon the children
to have a detrimental impact
upon a child’s health and
development with statutory
 Children in households where
intervention
there is occasional substance
misuse and parents have
demonstrated insight into the  Children receiving neglectful
potential impact this may have
parenting, that is having a
upon the children and/or are
significant impact upon their
engaging with the appropriate
health and development. A high
services
number of the following factors
would need to be present:
frequent periods of ill-health;
 Pre-birth
support
to
inadequate hygiene within the
teenage/young parents, where
home; poor nutrition impacting
there is evidence of extended
upon ability to thrive; high levels
family support, co-operation with
of school absence, and evidence
universal services and there is
of poor supervision at home
little evidence of significant risk
factors such as, substance
misuse, parental mental health,  Children and young people who
chaotic lifestyle, or domestic
present with serious anti-social
abuse
behaviour; violent and
aggressive criminal activity that
places then at risk of a custodial
 Children and young people who
sentence; young people who
present with behaviour that
pose a risk to other family
challenges boundaries including
members by their aggressive, or
those diagnosed with ADHD at
uncontrolled behaviour, or
home, results in frequent, or
presenting with inappropriate
permanent
exclusion
from
sexualised behaviour
school, or involves low-level
criminal activity such as, theft,
 Neglect that will result in significant
harm, as a result of severe acute
or long-term parental mental
health.
 Very serious, or chronic cases of
domestic abuse, which are likely to
cause significant harm to the
child(ren)
 Pre-birth assessments where there
is clear evidence of significant
harm due to substance misuse,
parental mental health, Domestic
Abuse and/or a history of previous
children being subject to a CP
Plan, or removed from parental
care
 Children, or young people who
need to be Looked After by the
Local Authority
 Children, or young people who
pose a risk to themselves; through
significant self-harm, frequent and
extended periods of absconding
that puts them in danger, serious
drug misuse, sexually harmful
behaviour, frequent offending that
has resulted in a custodial
sentence
 Children in immediate danger, or
who require immediate
assessment to ascertain whether
shoplifting and minor criminal  Children whose parents are
damage
undergoing an acrimonious
separation and this is having a
 Children with a diagnosed
severely detrimental effect upon
disability such as AASD, who
their emotional well-being.
nevertheless are vulnerable and
Examples of this would be
require additional support in
parents making frequent
order to access the same
allegations against one another
community
resources
and
often involving the children, or
activities
as
non-disabled
children who are overly exposed
children
to parental dysfunction
 Children who have experienced  Children subject to court orders
multiple carers that is having an
– Section 7 enquiries where
impact upon their ability to reach
there has been recent, or Child
their full potential
Protection involvement, Family
Assistance Orders, Supervision
Orders
 Children where one parent has
mental health problems, or
learning difficulties and this is  Children who self harm, run
impacting upon their ability to
away from home and whose
reach their full potential; but
behaviour would place them at
there are resilience factors in the
risk of harm without statutory
home through support from
involvement
another parent, extended family
 Young Carers where there is a
need for a joint assessment with
adult services to identify a
significant unmet need for
either/or both child and parent
 Private Fostering placements,
where a private individual is
caring for a child, following
agreement with his/her primary
care-giver(s)
they need to be looked after by the
Local Authority to ensure their
safety
 Children at risk due to actual, or
likely contact which pose a risk to
children and/or young people, ie:
convicted of causing harm to
children, on the sex offender’s
register
 Children made subject to Police
Protection
 Enquiries to assist the court in the
execution of their duties pertaining
to Section 37 of the Children Act
(1989)
 Referrals against carers and
professionals, or those in a
position of trust and responsibility,
and which require a referral and
investigation by the LADO service
 Referrals where a crime has been
committed against a child, or
young person, and which require a
police investigation
 Child Protection investigations of
Looked After Children placed by a
Local Authority residing in Surrey
 Children or young people with a
Disability where the primary need
 Unaccompanied AsylumSeeking Young People
 Homeless Teenagers
abandoned by their parents
 Children or young people whose
primary need is related to their
disability, or it’s impact and they
are unlikely to reach their full
potential despite the provision of
universal and targeted services:
eg a child whose health and
development would not be met
without the provision of
specialist equipment; children
with moving and handling needs
that places them, or their
parents at risk, children with a
disability where there is a risk of
family breakdown due to
parent’s inability to safely
manage them, or children whose
disability prevents them being
able to manage essential
personal care
 Children who have previously
been subject to a Child
Protection Plan, for whom there
are ongoing concerns requiring
a short-term intervention under a
Social Care Child in Need Plan.
Children or young people would
need to meet one of the above
is safeguarding, or there is a risk of
family breakdown and a likelihood
that the child will be
accommodated
Level 3 criteria in order to qualify
for a Children’s Social Care
service.