Southwark Contacts
If there is suspicion or allegation of abuse, obtained by personal disclosure, observation, report by another person, anonymous communication or any other source, here are some key contacts you should refer to.
Important: in the first instance you must follow your organisation’s Safeguarding Policy. This is in place to guide you to make the best decisions, and to protect you. This will very likely ask you to report any concerns to your Line Manager or designated Safeguarding Lead, and you should follow this and any other instructions the policy provides.
Important: If you believe a child or vulnerable adult is in immediate danger, contact the police on 999.
For Children’s Safeguarding
- Contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) :
The MASH brings together a team of multi-disciplinary professionals to deal with all safeguarding concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child.Phone: 020 7525 1921 (9-5) or out of hours 020 7525 5000
Email: mash@southwark.gov.uk and Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
- Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO):
If you have concerns about the behaviours of an adult who works with children and young people, contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), who works within Children’s Services and provides advice and guidance to employers, organisations and other individuals.Phone: 020 7525 3297 / 020 7525 0689
Phone: Head of social work improvement and quality assurance: 020 7525 0387
For Adults’ Safeguarding
Contact Southwark Adult Social Care
- for adults with a physical or sensory disability and older people (65 years and above):
Email: OPPDContactteam@southwark.gov.uk
Phone: 020 7525 3324 - for adults (aged 18 to 65) with a mental illness:
Email: MHContact@southwark.gov.uk
Phone: 020 7525 0088 - for adults with a learning disability:
Email: LearningDisabilitiesDuty@southwark.gov.uk
Phone: 020 7525 2333
DBS Service Contact
DBS Regional Outreach Service – Greater London – Kiran Rehal
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has launched a new Regional Outreach Service to focus on working collaboratively with safeguarding and recruiting organisations. The aim is to work closer with organisations and networks to build and develop relationships, acting as a single point of contact for all DBS related enquiries within their region.
Kiran Rehal is the DBS Regional Outreach Advisor for Greater London and will be based in the region. She is available to discuss all matters in relation to DBS, as well as support you and your colleagues in safeguarding and safer recruitment.
Kiran is able to work with you and your organisation in a number of ways, including:
- Answering phone calls or emails to clarify any DBS related queries/questions or advice
- Attending meetings, training, conferences or visiting organisations to have a face to face discussion (in lines with pandemic restrictions)
- Developing and delivering presentations, workshops, webinars or discussions to provide an overview of DBS and safer recruitment
- Taking any feedback, suggestions or comments from DBS experiences and feeding this back into the business
- Helping to understand what level of check can be applied for and what information these checks will provide
- Informing organisations and employers of their duty or power to refer individuals who may pose a future risk of harm within regulated activity. Including an overview of:
- How to make barring referrals;
- When should a referral be made and
- How DBS assess whether a referred person should be included on the Children’s and/or Adults’ Barred List.
If you have any questions regarding the DBS or would like any further information, please do contact Kiran:
Email: Kiranpreet.rehal@dbs.gov.uk / DBSRegionaloutreach@dbs.gov.uk
Tel: 0300 105 3081
