How do we make a safeguarding referral for a SEND pupil?

The route, in order

Act immediately: tell your designated safeguarding lead, who refers to the council’s children’s social care that day (call 999 if the child is in immediate danger). The threshold and route are the same for a SEND pupil. There is no separate or higher bar to clear because a child has an EHCP or is on SEN Support. The steps below are what Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 expects of every member of staff.

1. Act the same day you have the concern. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 999 first. Do not wait to gather perfect information, and do not investigate the concern yourself.
2. Speak to your designated safeguarding lead (the DSL) or their deputy, and follow your school’s child protection policy. The DSL normally co-ordinates and makes the referral to children’s social care.
3. Refer to children’s social care. Where a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, harm, the referral to the council’s social care front door (often called the MASH) is made that day, and to the police where a crime may have been committed. You can report a concern to the local council even if you are not sure abuse has happened.
4. Record it. Write down what you saw or were told, in the child’s words where you can, with the date, time and who you told.

The SEND point most guidance skips

Here is the part that catches schools out. The threshold and the process do not change, but Keeping Children Safe in Education warns that abuse and neglect are under-recognised in children with SEND. A change in behaviour, mood, or an unexplained injury can be wrongly put down to the child’s condition. Children with SEND can also be more isolated, more often bullied or exploited, and may rely on adults for personal care, which makes harm harder to spot and harder for the child to report. So refer on the same threshold as you would for any pupil, while consciously not explaining the concern away as “just part of their needs”.

What happens next, and what to do if it stalls

On receiving the referral, the council’s children’s social care decides within one working day what to do next. They may offer support to a child in need, a category that expressly includes a disabled child, under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Where there is reasonable cause to suspect the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, the council must make enquiries under section 47 to decide how to keep the child safe.

If you remain concerned and feel the child is not being protected, you do not have to leave it with the DSL. Any member of staff can refer directly to children’s social care, the police, or the NSPCC. Push for a response; a referral that goes quiet is not the end of your duty.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.