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.

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. 

MASH Referral Portal

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:

  • suffering harm, neglect, or abuse 
  • not getting the right support for their disability 
  • under stress from a family situation

The portal allows you to fill out a form with the relevant details and attach any documents that may be helpful. You will also receive a confirmation email and a reference number after you submit the referral. Our team will review your referral and contact you as soon as possible. Please note this portal requires users to set up an account.

Make an online referral here

If you have an urgent concern about a child that needs a same-day response, please contact the MASH using the relevant contact number below.

  • Tel: 020 8255 2888 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
  • Emergency Duty Team: 0208 726 6400 (available outside office hours)
  • If you are not sure whether a child has an allocated social worker or not, please call 020 8726 6000, Option1 

If you feel you may be put into a difficult position by calling, you can make the referral anonymously.

If you wish to speak to or leave a message for a child’s allocated social worker, you will need to contact them directly. Your email into our MASH email inbox will not be responded to.

If you are a professional and you are enquiring if the child is known, you need to either submit a formal information request referral or phone 0208 726 6000. Any general emails requesting to know if a child is known or has an allocated social worker will not be responded to.

If you're concerned that a child needs an immediate response, consider calling 999.