Multi-Agency Child and Adolescent Protection Services
Our Multi-Agency Protection Services are the specialist hub for all child and adolescent protection activities across the borough.
The teams include experienced social workers and police officers who are responsible for leading on all child and adolescent protection enquiries.
The lead social work protection practitioner also has a role in overseeing the effectiveness of plans to keep child and adolescents protected and safer.
The protection teams also include other senior lead safeguarding partners from education, health, substance abuse, mental health and domestic abuse services, who provide professional expertise, enable information sharing and help to co-ordinate child and adolescent protection activity in their own organisations.
These protection service also includes a wider range of services providing intensive support for families whose children are at risk of significant harm and who need the most help, either at home or because of something they are experiencing in the community. These services include a range of individual and/or group parenting assessments and support programmes.
The multi-agency child protection teams (MA-CPT)
The MA-CPT specialise in leading, co-ordinating and overseeing protection activity mainly (but not exclusively) for younger children, from prior to being born and through their primary school age period, where the main focus may be harm they are experiencing in their home or within their family. For example, through neglect, physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse.
The MA-CPT includes and works closely with the London Metropolitan Police, the team also includes specialist safeguarding health and education leads.
The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) is situated within the MA-CPT, they are responsible for the oversight of all protection enquiries where the safeguarding concerns relate to adults who have contact with children through their work, or in a volunteering capacity.
The multi-agency adolescent protection teams (MA-APT)
The MA-APT is part of a wider Integrated Adolescent Service, which includes a range of support for older children in Lewisham.
The MA-APT specialise in leading, co-ordinating and overseeing protection activity mainly (but not exclusively) for older children and young people where the main focus may be harm they are experiencing in the community. For example, through criminal and/or sexual exploitation, serious violence and involvement in gangs, trafficking or radicalisation.
The MA-APT includes a missing unit that responds to all incidents when a child or young person has been reported missing, supporting efforts to locate then, return them to safety and following up any harmful experiences they may have suffered whilst missing.
The MA-APT includes and works closely with the London Metropolitan Police, the team also includes specialist safeguarding health and education leads.
How do the teams work?
If a child or young person is believed to be suffering harm as a result of neglect, abuse or exploitation the Families First Contact Point (FFCP), the Family Help Practitioner or Children in Care Social Worker will notify the protection team. A specialist child or adolescent protection social worker will be co-assigned to work with the lead practitioner and the family and/or carers.
The protection social worker will meet with the children and their family or carers, along with the lead practitioner, to conduct protection enquiries. Sometimes where a crime is thought to have been committed, this will also involve the police.
The protection social worker co-ordinates and oversees the action needed to keep the children safe, this includes chairing protection and safety conferences. Where the harm is outside the home in the community, for example, exploitation and violence, the protection team will work with schools, community groups, other council services and the police to put things in place to try and reduce the risks.
The MA-CPT or MA-APT will continue to be involved with the children and family until the support around the children has been strengthened enough to keep them safe. Or in the most serious and exceptional circumstances when the children becomes looked after by another safe adult in their network, or comes into foster care.