Reporting Safeguarding Disclosures and Concerns

All disclosures and concerns about a child must be reported to the relevant Safeguarding Team. This is without exception and regardless of the views and wishes of the child in question.

Note: If the disclosure or concern relates to a member of staff or volunteer, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) must be notified. They coordinate all allegations and concerns made against people who work with children and will advise on what action should be taken regarding the individual in question.

When a disclosure or concern should be reported

The Care Act 2014 sets out the legal circumstances when a safeguarding disclosure or concern should be reported:

1. The adult at risk has (or may have) a need for care and support (it does not matter whether those needs have been formally assessed by the local authority or anyone else. For example, their family may have put arrangements in place independently or be providing all the care they need)
2. The adult at risk is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect
3. As a result of their need for care and support, the adult at risk is unable to protect themselves from the experience or risk of abuse or neglect.

If there is any doubt about the above, report the disclosure or concern. The Safeguarding Team that receives the information will review the circumstances and decide whether the duty to make enquiries is met.

Ascertaining views and wishes 

Before reporting any disclosure or concern about an adult at risk, their views and wishes about what they want to happen should be sought. This is in line with an important approach to safeguarding adults called Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP).

Making Safeguarding Personal is firmly embedded in the statutory guidance for the Care Act 2014 and should flow through every aspect of adult safeguarding.

It is about having conversations with adults at risk about how responses to safeguarding situations can be made in a way that enhances their involvement, choice and control as well as improving their quality of life, well-being and safety. 

It is about seeing adults at risk as experts in their own lives and working alongside them to identify the outcomes they want. 

For more information about MSP, or to find out about any available training, contact the Safeguarding Adults Board.

Seeking consent

Before reporting any disclosure or concern about an adult at risk, their consent to do so should be sought.

Where consent is given, the disclosure or concern must always be reported.

If it is not possible to seek consent (for example, doing so may increase the risk of harm occurring), the disclosure or concern should be reported and the rationale for not seeking consent explained.

If consent is not given, the disclosure or concern must still be reported if you believe that:

• The abuse or neglect has caused (or may cause) serious harm
• Another adult or child is at risk
• The adult at risk lacks the mental capacity to give or refuse consent
• Their decision not to give consent may have been influenced by someone else
• A crime has been committed or reporting the concern may prevent a crime.

The concern must also be reported if it relates to a staff member, volunteer or other person in a position of trust.

Where a decision is made to carry out any action against the adult’s wishes, the reason for doing so should be clearly recorded.

If you are unclear about the above, always seek the advice and support of the relevant Safeguarding Team. This can be done without disclosing the adult at risk's details.

Where to report concerns 

Disclosures and concerns about adults at risk should always be reported to the relevant Safeguarding Team.

When reporting a disclosure or concern to the Safeguarding Team, the police should also be notified if the nature of the abuse is likely to be a criminal offence, even if the adult at risk does not wish to report it to the police themselves. A few examples of criminal offences are rape, theft, assault and modern slavery. If you are unclear whether the nature of the abuse is criminal, always contact the police for advice.

If your setting is a charity, you are also required to report serious incidents, including incidents of abuse or mistreatment (alleged or actual) of beneficiaries of the charity (children or adults at risk) which have resulted in, or risk significant harm to them.

For further guidance or to make a report online, see: How to report a serious incident in your charity.