The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) team are qualified social workers. MASH will provide triage and multi-agency assessment of all safeguarding concerns in respect of vulnerable children. MASH will analyse all of the information they have gathered as part of their enquiries and will make a recommendation for what should happen next, this may mean a child and family being offered Early Help or for an assessment under section 47 or section 17 Children Act 1989.
MASH responds to all safeguarding referrals for children from a range of individuals, including professionals, families and carers. The team are based in County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight.
MASH are the first point of contact within Children’s Social Care where staff will triage the information referred, where risk and protective factors will be considered, and next steps identified. MASH staff will use the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Safeguarding Children Partnerships Threshold Chart to determine what help and protection a child and family may need.
The benefit of the MASH team is the team will gather information from the various computer systems managed by each individual agency within the MASH. This information is shared in a timely and effective way to inform the decision making for children and families.