If you’re worried about a child or young person
If you’re worried about a child or young person living in Hackney, you can contact the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for advice and guidance.
About Children and Families Services
We are Hackney’s Children and Families Service. We work to achieve the best outcomes for every child in the borough. Our Systemic, Trauma-Informed and Anti-Racist (STAR) practice model informs everything we do.
Our dedicated practitioners work to a set of practice standards, which have been developed to reflect our organisational values with the child being at the centre of everything we do. We share a mutual expectation that every member of our service takes responsibility for their own learning and development with respect to anti-racist, anti-oppressive practice. We hold a further expectation that all staff will join us in creating a culture of critically reflective practice as outlined in our anti-racist practice standards.
Our priority is to provide the highest quality support and care for Hackney’s children and families, providing the right support at the right time. We are continually seeking to improve our services and set this out in our Action Plan. Our five focus areas are:
- Proud to be STAR
- Proud to listen to children and families
- Proud to work with partner agencies
- Proud to work together to keep children safe
- Proud to support our workforce to flourish
Who are we?
In partnership with families, carers and our partners, we run an integrated service for children, young people and their families, which is made up of six service areas:
Early Help and Prevention
Early Help and Prevention includes Young Hackney, our Youth Justice Service, Domestic Abuse Intervention Service, Family Support Service and Supporting Families Programme.
Assessment and Planning
Access and Assessment incorporates the “front door” of Hackney Children’s Services via the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), which is a central point for all referrals from partners and the community.
Child Protection and Child in Need
The Child Protection and Child in Need service works alongside families to support and protect children where significant harm, or the likelihood of significant harm, has been identified, to improve outcomes for children and ensure their safety.
Corporate Parenting
Staff within the corporate parenting service offer support to Hackney’s looked after children, unaccompanied asylum seekers, care leavers between the ages of 18 to 25, foster carers and special guardians.
Safeguarding & Quality Assurance
The Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service includes two key services: the Safeguarding and Reviewing Team and Quality Assurance & Improvement Team.
Business, Systems and Operations
Business Support leads on the administrative and financial functions for the service so that practitioners do not have to.
Read more about our services for children and families on the Hackney website