Multi-Agency Working in Safeguarding: What Social Care Providers Must Do
Safeguarding is rarely resolved by one organisation alone. Whether you're responding to concerns, managing risk, or making referrals, multi-agency working is essential.
🤝 What Is Multi-Agency Working in Safeguarding?
Multi-agency working means working in partnership with others — health, police, local authority safeguarding teams, housing, advocacy, schools, and more — to protect people from harm.
For providers, this means not just knowing how to refer, but actively contributing to coordinated support plans, safeguarding enquiries, and meetings like MARACs or strategy discussions.
📋 What Commissioners and Inspectors Want to See
CQC and tender panels want more than a name-drop of the local safeguarding board. They want to see:
- Clear referral pathways — including emergency contacts and thresholds.
- Staff knowledge — how and when to escalate concerns externally.
- Examples of joined-up working — not just policy, but practice.
- Follow-up and outcomes — how learning is shared and embedded.
🏆 How to Evidence Multi-Agency Working
In tenders or inspections, go beyond listing partners. Demonstrate:
- Real case examples where inter-agency collaboration kept someone safe.
- How you participate in safeguarding adults boards or sub-groups.
- Staff attendance at multi-agency training, panels, or best-practice forums.
- Joint care planning or safeguarding investigations you’ve contributed to.
🔐 Why This Matters
People fall through the gaps when organisations don’t communicate. Multi-agency working isn’t just good practice — it’s a legal and ethical requirement under the Care Act 2014 and Children Act 1989/2004.
Effective collaboration helps identify risk early, prevents duplication, and ensures the person is truly at the centre of care decisions.
✅ Final Tips for Providers
- 📞 Maintain up-to-date contact lists and escalation routes.
- 📄 Include multi-agency responsibilities in your safeguarding policy and induction.
- 🗣️ Train staff to feel confident in liaising with other agencies, not just internally.
Strong partnerships make safeguarding stronger — and show commissioners you’re part of a system, not working in isolation.
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Updated for Procurement Act 2023 • CQC-aligned • BASE-aligned (where relevant)