What to do if…
you are contacted by a child protection or welfare agency asking to speak with you urgently

What to do now

1. Check immediate safety first. Make sure the child is physically safe, supervised if needed, and not listening to adult conversations. If there is an immediate risk of harm, call 999 before doing anything else.

2. Get the caller’s details, then pause. Ask for their full name, job title, team, organisation, direct number, email address, office address, and any reference number. Say: “I’m going to verify this through the official office number and call back.”

3. Verify the contact independently. Use an official website to find the main number for the local council, children’s services, social work or social services team, or the relevant HSC Trust in Northern Ireland. Call that main number and ask to be put through to the person or team who contacted you. If it is out of hours, ask for the emergency duty, out-of-hours social work, or Gateway service, depending on the area.

4. Ask what needs dealing with today. Once you have verified the contact, ask:

   • Which child is this about?
   • What is the immediate safety concern today?
   • What are you asking me to do now?
   • Are you asking for a phone call, a home visit, a meeting, or to see the child?
   • What can you confirm in writing?

5. Ask what process they are using. In England and Wales, you can ask whether this is being treated as child in need support or child protection enquiries, sometimes called section 47 enquiries. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the terms are different; ask the worker to explain the process they are using, what happens next, and who is responsible for the next contact.

6. Set calm conditions for the conversation. If you are in public, driving, at work, or too panicked to listen properly, say: “I can speak when I am private and able to take notes. Can we agree a time today, or the earliest time you say is necessary?” If they say it cannot wait, ask what immediate safety reason means it cannot wait.

7. Write down a simple record. Note the date, time, phone number, name, team, organisation, child’s name, exact words used such as “urgent”, “risk”, “significant harm”, or “strategy discussion”, and what you agreed to do next. Keep messages, letters, voicemails, and screenshots.

8. Keep the home calm and ordinary. Keep meals, school, nursery, medication, contact arrangements, and bedtime as normal where safe. Do not ask the child to explain the referral or defend anyone.

9. If they want to see or speak with the child quickly, ask for the practical details. Ask who will attend, where they want to see the child, whether they want to speak with the child alone, how long it may take, and whether another trusted adult can be present. They may need to see or speak with the child promptly, but you can still ask for clarity and make a note of what is said.

10. Get specialist help early if you can. If you are a parent, carer, or family member, consider contacting a family law solicitor or a specialist child protection advice organisation. If you already have a solicitor, ask whether key written communications can also be copied to them.