How to report a child/young person you believe is at risk of/experiencing abuse and neglect
Keeping Children Safe
If you are worried about the safety or welfare of a child or young person under the age of 18 then you must report it immediately. If the child/young person is being harmed right now, then you need to call the Police on 999.
If the situation is less urgent but you are concerned that a child or young person is at risk of being harmed, maybe, you are worried they are being hurt physically or you feel that the care they are having is not keeping them safe, then you need to contact Children’s Services on 01685 725000.
If you are a member of the public, you can remain anonymous. Professionals do not have the right to remain anonymous and under the law they have a duty to report any concerns they have about a child or young person’s safety or welfare.
If you are in any doubt about reporting your concerns don’t think ‘What if I’m wrong?’, think ‘What if I’m right?’.
Merthyr Tydfil Children's Services Tel: 01685 725000
Open: 8.30am – 5.00pm (Monday to Thursday), 8.30am – 4.30pm (Friday)
Emergency Duty Team: 01443 743665
(5.00pm – 8.30am Monday to Thursday, 4.30pm – 8.30am Friday to Monday)
Worried about your child?
Are you worried about your child, or do you feel that your family may need support?
If you are concerned about your child or believe that you need some support as a family, please contact the Early Help Hub (see link in first page of this website). We will be able to find the right service for you and your family and usually this will be services from your own community.
Sometimes families need a bit more help so we may suggest having a Team Around your Family who work together to support you. This team could include people from school, health, youth service and any other service you feel you need. We will ask you what it is you feel you need support with and then write this in a plan that everyone will work on.
If there are significant worries about your child’s safety or welfare, a Children’s Services social worker will meet with you and your family to try to understand more about what is happening, what support you may need, what you are worried about and what you want to improve. They will write this down in an assessment that you will have a copy of.
The assessment will usually say that other services are the right services for you and your family, and we would talk to you about these to see if you agree you want this support.
The assessment may say that you need support from Children’s Services, and we will work with you to develop a plan for how we and other agencies will support you and your family. This is called a Care and Support Plan.
Sometimes agencies will be very worried about children’s safety and welfare and a Child Protection Conference will be arranged. This is a meeting of professionals and families where, together, we think about the best ways to keep the children safe. If professionals agree that a child’s name needs to be added to the Child Protection Register, then we will develop a plan with families and other services to keep the children safe. This plan is called a Care and Support Protection Plan.
On very rare occasions, Children’s Services must take immediate action to ensure children are safe. This may mean applying to the Court for an order to keep the children safe.
You can find out more about what social workers do and how Children’s Services work on this website.
Safeguarding Board
The Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board is a group of very senior managers from the Police, Social Services, Education, Health and the voluntary sector who are responsible for ensuring that children who live in Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taf are kept safe from harm.
The Board has a website that includes information for parents and carers, children and young people and professionals.
For more information, please visit Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board website