Report a concern about a child
If you are worried or have concerns that a child or young person is being neglected, harmed, or may need support, there are ways we can help.
If you have an urgent concern about a child that needs an immediate response, consider calling 999 and request the appropriate emergency service.
Finding the right support
Croydon has many services and groups that can help children and families with various needs. The Croydon Early Help directory provides information from a wide range of voluntary, community and faith organisations who can also offer support an advice.
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
If you are concerned about a child or a family and want to request support from our services, you can use our online portal to make a referral to our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).
This concern should relate to a child:
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suffering harm, neglect, or abuse
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not getting the right support for their disability
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under stress from a family situation
If you cannot find the right help through the local directory, you can contact our MASH team by making a referral. The MASH can offer you support and advice, as well as putting families in touch with other services.
If you are a member of the public, you can make the referral anonymously if you are concerned that calling us could put you in a difficult position.
If you are a professional and you are unsure about whether or not to make a referral, or which service will best help the family and safeguard the child, you can:
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speak to your designated safeguarding lead in the first instance
If the child has an allocated social worker or key worker, or you need to enquire if the child has an allocated social worker or key worker, please contact the worker or their team directly, or call on 0208 726 6000 and press Option 5.
Making a referral
If you're concerned about a child, you can make a referral quickly and securely using our Children and Families Online Portal.
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By phone: Call 020 8255 2888 (Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm)
Request Information (Professionals Only)
Professionals can use the portal to submit a request for information regarding a child or family.
Other Enquiries
For general safeguarding queries, please email:
Urgent referrals
If it is not appropriate to call 999, but you have an urgent safeguarding concern that requires a same day response, you can contact the MASH team in the following ways:
During office hours
Call the MASH on 0208 255 2888, Mon-Fri, 9pm to 5pm.
The referral, if appropriate, will be accepted over the telephone and you will need to follow this up by completing the online referral form within 24 hours.
Out of hours
Call our Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 0208 726 6400. Press 5 for Children’s Services and listen to the message until you hear ‘If your call is an emergency, please wait and your call will be transferred’.
If you can't get through on the out-of-hours line, please email: SSD-EMERGENCY-DUTY-TEAM@croydon.gov.uk.
Your call will be passed to the EDT social worker, who will respond as soon as possible. Response times may vary depending on call volume. The Emergency Duty Team handles urgent child safeguarding concerns that cannot wait until the next working day.
Online portal
An online MASH referral may be a more appropriate option, which will be actioned the following working day.