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Where there are concerns that a child is suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm a referral should be made to the local authority children’s social care.

Local authorities have a duty to make enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare.

Within one working day of a referral being received, a local authority social worker should make a decision about the type of response that is required and acknowledge receipt to the referrer.

n the first few days and weeks following birth, you may notice that you are constantly going over what happened during your birth as your body heals and your mind tries to make sense of what happened. For some people, these thoughts about the birth are not distressing and they quickly happen less often.