0% 35% 40% Education Police Health Parent/carer/family member/child or young person All other Phase 5 2015–16 Phase 9 2023–24 44 Table 5: Initial contacts by outcome as a proportion of all contacts. Source: SP9 respondents. The England number is extrapolated from 92 local authority responses based on proportion of England population. Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6 Phase 7 Phase 8 Phase 9 2013–14 2015–16 2017–18 2019–20 2021–22 2023–24 Referral to children’s social care 30% 29% 28% 25% 24% 22% Pass to early help services - 10% 13% 16% 16% 14% Advice and Information or signpost to other services 28% 31% 30% 26% 33% 30% No further action 25% 21% 22% 24% 16% 23% Other 17% 9% 7% 9% 11% 11% Figure 13: Summary of initial contacts by outcome as a proportion of all contacts Source: SP9 respondents. The England number is extrapolated from 92 local authority responses based on the proportion of the England population. 4.2 Referrals Where deemed appropriate, an initial contact can progress to a referral for services from children’s social care. This is where a social worker or manager considers whether a social care assessment or services may be required. While national data to 31 March 2024 (DfE 2024e) show a drop in referrals of 2.9% compared to the previous year, SP9 data returns 29% 10% 31% 21% 9% 22% 14% 30% 23% 11% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Referral to children's social care Pass to early help services Advice and information or signpost to other services No further action Other Phase 5 2015–16 Phase 9 2023–24 45 show a slight increase (Figure 14), reflecting the experiences of some of those who responded to the survey. We have seen a significant increase in referrals to children’s social care over the last two years with a 15% increase in referrals between 2022–23 and 2023–24. T