main content Children's Social Care support for children and families

Bromley Council's Children and Young People Department provides help and advice to families with children aged under 18 who are residents of the borough and who are having problems within their family life.

Eligibility

As required by the Children Act 1989, priority for the provision of social care support is given to children who are assessed as being ‘in need’ and their families.  To ensure that services go to those in the greatest need, the Council has eligibility criteria for those who are seeking help from social services with four levels of need.

Most children and young people's needs will be met through universal services (Level 1), for example by schools, youth services, GP surgeries as well as from support within the family.

A relatively very small number of children and young people, at risk of significant harm, require specialist support (Level 4), usually led by Children's Safeguarding and Social Care. 

Details

If the duty social worker thinks that Children's Social Care may be able to help you, he/she will need to discuss with you the problems you are facing and initially try to resolve them by providing appropriate advice and information.

If a family requires more than advice and information and agrees to have an initial assessment, then this should be carried out within seven working days of the referral. The social worker would normally try to visit the home, and where appropriate, involve the children in the interview. Contact with other involved agencies such as the school or health visitor may be part of this assessment.

Where family difficulties are complex, intense or long-standing, then a more detailed assessment would also be completed. This is called a ‘core’ assessment and would involve a number of interviews with family members and in-depth discussions about family life and the children’s needs. The social worker should complete this work within 35 working days. He or she will fully share the results of this assessment with the family.

Charging Contributions

If you are the parent of a child or young person who is 'looked after' by Bromley Council,  you may be expected to contribute to the cost of your child's care.  Further information is available in the Children's Social Care Charging Policy and Leaflet.

Next Steps

Contact your local Children's Safeguarding and Social Care office at either Penge or Orpington and ask to speak to the duty social worker in the Referral and Assessment Team.
or
For problems relating to the following: -

• If your child has severe learning or physical disabilities and you require a social work service, please contact the Children’s Disability Social Work Team and ask to speak to the duty social worker.  
• For enquiries about day care services, such as childminders, nurseries and pre-schools (playgroups), contact the Bromley Childcare Information Service.
• For general advice about welfare benefits, debt management & housing issues, please contact your local Citizens Advice Bureaux or other specialist advisory agency.
• If difficulties arise outside of normal office hours, contact Bromley Council’s Emergency Out-of-Hours Service. There is a social worker on duty to provide a service in emergency situations or on behalf of someone else, if they are concerned about the welfare of children. Social services staff have to follow legislation protecting the confidentiality of information about service users and will not normally be allowed to share this without the consent of the individual service user involved in the referral.

Contact Details

Children and Families Referral and Assessment Teams
Monday to Friday : 8.45 to 5.00pm

Children’s Disability Team
If this is your first contact with Social Services OR you are already in receipt of services and your circumstances change OR there is an emergency then your first point of contact will be through the front line contact service (Bromley Social Services) on 020 8461 7777. Minicom: 020 8464 7350. Assistance is available on this number from 8.30 to 5.30pm:Monday to Friday.


Bromley Family Information Service
Address:  Family Information Service, Bromley Central Library 3rd Floor, High Street, Bromley BR1 1EX
Telephone: 020 8464 0276
Fax: 020 8464 0664
e-mail: childcare.information@bromley.gov.uk

Bromley Council’s Emergency Out-of-Hours service.
Telephone: 020 8464 4848