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Introduction
This section is aimed principally at practitioners – usually social workers – who are leading multi-agency assessments. It is intended to help you understand:
- what considerations you need to make when requesting or using information about a person or family
- what information is important in a multi-agency assessment when there are concerns of child sexual abuse
- how and where this information may have been recorded
- which agency or organisation holds the information.
Follow the links below to find tables showing the types of information that should be shared in relation to:
- the child (or each child) who is being sexually abused or is at risk of sexual abuse
- the person(s) of concern/suspect(s), who may themselves be children
- the child’s non-abusing parent(s)/carer(s).
You can also download these tables as a PDF.
Rather than providing a definitive list of all the factors that an assessment should consider, the tables highlight information that is often fragmented, unclear or inconsistently shared; they do not show more routine information that will already be known or easily available, such as the child’s age.
For more information about how to respond to concerns of child sexual abuse, please see the CSA Centre’s Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway.
Under the Families First Partnership programme of reforms to the safeguarding system in England, there should be a single, proportionate needs assessment and plan which travels with the family across the continuum of need – from targeted early help through to more specialist support if needs escalate. This means that safeguarding practitioners should be able to adapt that assessment at different stages, combining new information with what’s already known, rather than starting from scratch each time.
If concerns escalate to the point where child protection enquiries and a statutory child protection plan are required, there will be a statutory child protection assessment. Although the system aims to be seamless, a child protection assessment will usually be more investigative and risk-focused than a Family Help assessment because the legal and protective context is different. It will nevertheless draw on what has already been gathered where it is relevant and up to date.
Here we use the term ‘multi-agency assessment’ to describe both child protection assessments and Family Help assessments.
For more information about the Family First Partnership programme, see the Department for Education’s guide.
In Wales, a multi-agency assessment should be, where possible, in accordance with the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, focusing on the ‘what matters’ conversation. A proportionate assessment is a person-centred, ‘light-touch’ approach to evaluating care needs, focusing on what matters to the individual while minimising the administrative burden on them. It tailors the depth of the assessment to the complexity of the situation, often focusing on strengths, community resources, and preventative support rather than immediate formal services.
A multi-agency assessment is usually led by a social worker, especially when there is a need for a statutory response; they will coordinate requests for information and incorporate this information into the assessment. The Department for Education’s statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children makes clear that the purpose of this assessment is to:
… determine whether the child is in need, the nature of any services required and whether any specialist assessments should be undertaken to assist the local authority in its decision-making.
All practitioners working with the child or people around the child should share relevant information so that the multi-agency assessment can fulfil that purpose.
Whenever you are coordinating an assessment, it is important to hold the following in mind:
- Only gather and use information that is necessary. Each piece of information should have a clear purpose for understanding the child’s needs, the risks they face, or their protective factors. Avoid collecting or relying on information that does not directly contribute to decisions about the child’s welfare.
- Integrate information thoughtfully into your assessment. Information from different practitioners and organisations should be woven together to create a coherent and accurate picture of the child and their family circumstances. Don’t simply list facts; instead, consider how each piece of information relates to the child’s safety, wellbeing and family context.
- Keep the child’s perspective at the centre. Consider how it will feel for the child to know that a particular piece of information is being shared with others. Think about how to incorporate their voice, lived experience and wishes when interpreting and recording information.
- Recognise how systemic factors may affect the child and family. For example, patterns of risk or contact with services may disproportionately affect children from certain ethnic groups, disabled children, or those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning their gender identity. Ensure that practitioners’ assumptions – including your own – about the child and family are challenged, and that information is used in a way that does not reinforce bias or discrimination.
- Consider the potential impact of sharing sensitive information. Be especially careful with information that could stigmatise the child, such as any criminal history, care experience or behavioural concerns. Reflect on how this information is presented, and do not share it unless you are sure it is relevant to assessing current needs and risks. Is it more appropriate to share a summary of the information rather than the full detail?
- Document your rationale. Clearly record why each piece of information was requested, how it has been interpreted, and how it contributes to understanding the child’s/family’s needs, risk factors and protective factors. This transparency supports accountability and ensures that information is used responsibly.
- Plan for proportionality and relevance in ongoing sharing. Not all information from earlier assessments or other organisations/practitioners may need to be carried forward in full. Decide what is most important to inform decisions at this stage, while respecting confidentiality and the child’s rights.