What was the challenge?

Most local areas across England have in place Multi-Agency Front Door Services to share information quickly between social workers, health, police and sometimes education and other services. These services support decision-making when a child is referred to children’s social care. They are often known as Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH).

MASHs developed organically as a response to service failings identified in reviews of child deaths and as a result they have evolved differently across the country. Policymakers and local leaders lacked clear evidence about how different front-door models work in practice, for which groups of children, young people and families, and in what circumstances.

Evidence was needed to inform children’s social care reform, national guidance, and local decisions about how safeguarding services should be organised.

How did we approach it?

UCL and Newcastle University carried out a national implementation and process evaluation (IPE) as responsive research commissioned by Foundations, and funded by the Department for Education.

The study combined:

  • National focus groups with MASH practitioners,
  • In-depth qualitative research in three English local authorities involving professionals from social care, health, education, police, early help and others.
  • Workshops with practitioners to test and refine findings, and
  • Workshops with parents who had experience of their children being referred to children’s social care.

What we found

  • We theorise that MASH in England fall into two main models: those that focus primarily on risk assessment and those that also include needs assessment and service planning for children and families. The latter received strong support from practitioners and parents but was also described as more difficult and resource-intensive to run.
  • Practitioners reported that strong relationships and co-location enabled informal knowledge sharing, mutual respect and collaborative decision making.
  • Practitioners emphasised the importance of a stable workforce, including the expertise needed to select, analyse and share single-agency knowledge so it could be understood and used by colleagues from other services.
  • Education partners were viewed as essential to effective safeguarding but were often hard to involve due to classroom responsibilities and term-time pressures.
  • Information sharing and consent remain complex and inconsistently understood. Parents were often unclear about how information about them is shared, and why. 

What was the impact?

Shaping reform

Findings were discussed with the Department for Education as part of preparations for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and while The Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme Guide was being finalised.  

Informing implementation

The research provides evidence to support the development of Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams and Family Help proposed in the Bill.

Local service redesign

Several councils have used the evidence to review and clarify their own MASH models and understand the relative role of MASH and the newly required Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams.

Strengthening guidance

The research informed national discussions about developing ‘front-door principles’, especially around clearer and more consistent information-sharing and consent.

Why it matters

Getting the first response right is crucial. When agencies don’t share information or understand a family’s full situation, children can receive delayed or inappropriate support.

The research shows what can help services work well together at that first point of contact. It gives councils practical evidence on how MASH teams can make better, more informed decisions faster and make sure children get the right help at the right time.

It feels like we hold all the families, and we keep them safe. I think senior managers should be reassured by that, that it is safe, you know? It’s really difficult in front door because a lot of things can go wrong really quickly but this is one of the safest I’ve ever seen because of the structure at the top."

MASH practitioner

Key facts

Image credit: Mat Wright.