Changes to Westminster City Council’s referrals system aims to create a single “front door” for Children’s Service referrals.

The Council is reshaping its Children’s Service to make sure the focus is on how they can help, rather than whether thresholds have been met.

This includes the creation of the new Access to Children’s Services Team.

What is the new Access to Children’s Services Team?

The new ‘Access to Children’s Services Team’ will provide a single front door for all children’s referrals.  The team will include representatives from specialist areas including early years, education, police and health services, encouraging integrated and joined up working.

How is the Access Team different to the Duty and Assessment Team?

From January 2012 all referrals to Children’s Services in Westminster will be processed through a single ‘front door’, to ensure that the focus is on how we can help, rather than whether thresholds have been met.

Advice and liaison with other services will be offered in response to referrals of lower levels of need.

This means that:

• Referrals requiring urgent action will be passed on to the appropriate team without delay
• Referrals requiring support for specific needs will be allocated to the appropriate locality services
• Referrals where needs can be met through universal services will be signposted accordingly
• A new voluntary sector broker post has been created to better improve signposting of referrals to the voluntary sector

The Assessment Team will focus on high risk referrals where a referral is a child protection matter and requires an urgent response.

How can you contact the Access to Children’s Services Team?

There are four main ways in which you may contact the Access to Children’s Services Team:

• Through walk-ins (self-referral by members of the public only)
• By email at AccesstoChildrensServices@westminster.gov.uk
• By phone on 020 7641 4000
• By fax on 020 7641 7526

For more information or if you have any questions about the new referrals system, visit www.westminster.gov.uk/safeguardingcontacts

More information

1. Download a letter from James Thomas, Director of Family Services
2. Download a leaflet about the Access to Children’s Services Team
3. Download information on safeguarding referrals