is is drawn from several pieces of legislation; the most important thing to understand is that there are some specific legal requirements, and plenty of areas where a broad directive is then interpreted locally by local safeguarding authorities. The current core national guidance document is called Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (typically referred to as “Working Together”). Local authorities interpret relevant law and guidance to develop local policies and procedures. They also procure their own information systems and recruit their own workforce. This means that two neighbouring LAs may operate different systems and practices to pursue similar goals. Understanding your local context in each new role is therefore important, and we can’t usefully cover that detail in this document – ask a colleague! CSC services exist to help children at significant risk of harm. Harm can take many different forms, and occurs along a spectrum of severity, which means a safeguarding service must first assess and understand a child or family’s unique issues before making and delivering a support plan. There are different levels of support. Non-statutory or Early Help services support children and families below the threshold for obligatory state intervention. Child in Need support is the first tier of statutory intervention. More severe issues can result in Child Protection support. Where the balance of risk requires it, Child Looked After support is used to bring the child into LA care. There are then various pathways towards ending involvement, including de-escalation and eventual case closure. 7 Practice partners The key local services with safeguarding responsibility will convene a Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) to ensure they work together well. As well a