CSPoA is part of the Together for Families Service.

What CSPoA does

CSPoA acts as the ‘front door’ to Brighter Futures for Children, which is Reading Borough Council’s children’s services. This means all contacts, enquiries, and concerns about a child’s safety or wellbeing come through this team first.

The team manages:

• Requests for early help and prevention
• Support for children with disabilities
• Safeguarding concerns
• Child protection referrals

How the team works

CSPoA:

• looks at each referral or request for support and decides the right pathway for the child or young person
• uses a threshold criteria that has been agreed with partner agencies, to make sure decisions are consistent and fair
• collects and shares information with the right agencies so everyone has a clear picture of what support is needed

By having a single point of access, the service can make timely, informed and evidence-based decisions that keep children safe.

Who is involved?

CSPoA is a multi-agency team, which means professionals from different services across Reading work together. This includes:

• Police
• Health professionals
• Education services
• Health services

These partners help make sure decisions are well-informed and coordinated, so everyone – including the family and the child – knows who is responsible for providing the different areas of support.

Where to get more information

You can visit our dedicated webpages to find out:

• How members of the public can report concerns about a child
• How professionals can report concerns or make a referral