Support and Safeguarding (formerly Thresholds of Need)

Downloadable documents

• Support and Safeguarding in Salford: Helping Children to Thrive. Guidance for families, practitioners and community members (2023)
• Salford indicators of support and safeguarding needs
• Information sharing, consent and confidentiality
• Support and Safeguarding poster

The partnership vision is that; “All partners are committed to working together so that every child in Salford is safe, well and able to reach their full potential.”

'The Support and Safeguarding in Salford: Helping children to thrive guidance' has been produced by the SSCP.  This has replaced the 'Threshold of need and response' in Salford. The Guidance is for anyone who works with or cares for children including families, professionals, and members of the community. It has been produced to ensure the right support, from the right people is available at the right time for children and their families when needed and explains how to get different types of support.

This guidance places emphasis on support available for families and safeguarding processes. It reflects the SSCP vision of children being supported to grow up safe, well and thriving in Salford, by providing a framework for professionals who are working with children, young people and families; it aims to help you identify when a child may need additional support to achieve their full potential. 

It introduces a model of help and support, providing information on the stages of support and gives examples of some of the indicators that a child or young person may need additional support. By undertaking assessments and offering services and support at the earliest opportunity, professionals can be flexible and respond to needs of different children and families. We encourage professionals to reflect on the types and stages of support which families are entitled to, to ensure they meet their children’s needs and help them to thrive and keep them safe.

Development of the new guidance

A Multiagency working group was developed by the SSCP to refresh the previous Threshold of Need Guidance to align with our vision of working in partnership with families. We recognise the importance of having easy to access clear guidance to support our practitioners when delivering services.

Aims of the working group:

• To work together consistently to develop a high-quality Threshold of Need Document for practitioners and families compliant with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.
• For the document to be based around a familiar visual to promote consistency.
• To promote the document in partnership with Parents for Positive Change and Voice of the Child Subgroup
• To ensure threshold application is clear and consistent across the city in order to drive forward excellent outcomes children, young people, and their families.
• To identify common training and workforce development needs and promote how these can best be met.

In June 2021 a Focus Group was held inviting Professionals, parents, and local communities to give views of the Draft Threshold Practice Guidance. The  session was well attended by agencies from across the city with invaluable  feedback from Parents for Positive Change in Salford provided.  Work began to develop and produce a document that provides meaningful information and access to tools to help with conversations, providing interventions and examples of when additional support may be required.

An original version of the document was published in January 2022 with a further launch of additional materials in January 2023, including a video produced by young people from Salford titled The Safeguarding Zone.  

Worried about a child?

Remember – where there is an immediate need to protect a child because they are being harmed or are likely to suffer significant harm, contact the Police or The Bridge on 0161 603 4500 without delay.

If you want to tell us about a child or family who might need help please go to the  worried about a child page.