Hidden children
A child with a birth record but no school or health contact can be missing from every caseload.
For children
See the whole child, from birth to today.
ServiceLine helps organisations see a child's interaction across police, health, school and care contact together, so risk is spotted before it escalates.
What gets missed today
Missed appointments
'Was not brought' across two health trusts rarely reaches the same professional.
Borders hide history
A move to another council or police area can reset what professionals know.
Fragmented records
Police, GP, hospital, school and council systems each hold part of the story, with no shared child reference.
Slow agency checks
MASH officers phone and email for checks while the clock on a referral runs.
Unclear about sharing
Staff hold back information because they are unsure what they can share, even though the law allows sharing to protect a child.
How ServiceLine helps
- Prioritised referral queue with risk scores
- School register overlay with DfE attendance codes
- Recent, single-year and birth-to-present views
- Pattern detection across agencies, areas and years
- Colour-coded timeline: planned contacts below the line, unplanned incidents above
- 'Was not brought' and missed appointments with a distinct visual signature
- Cross-border context from other councils, trusts and police forces
- Onward referrals and concern markers that are never hidden
How it works
- Step 1
Connect
Partner systems share agreed event types through data mapping, not a new case system.
- Step 2
Match
Records are linked to one child, starting from the birth record.
- Step 3
Show
Every contact appears on one timeline, coloured by service and stronger where evidence supports it.
- Step 4
Flag
Patterns across agencies and years are surfaced so the right referrals are seen first.
Benefits for every partner
MASH and front door teams
- Screen referrals in minutes, not days
- See the history behind a single incident
- Prioritise the children most at risk
Children's social care
- Birth-to-present view for assessments
- Clear evidence for strategy meetings
- Context that follows a family across borders
Schools and education
- Attendance patterns next to other agency contact
- Find children missing from education
- Referrals linked to what else is happening
Health partners
- 'Was not brought' visible across trusts
- Health visiting and GP gaps spotted early
- A&E attendances seen alongside police contact
Police
- Domestic abuse call-outs linked to the children in the home
- Stops in other force areas brought into view
- Faster, better-informed checks
Leaders and ministers
- Act on review findings about information sharing
- Fewer children lost between services
- A shared picture without replacing existing systems
Fictional demo examples
Sofia Kaminski, 10
Born locally, never enrolled in school, then moves across the border.
Molly Hartnett, 2
Missed appointments across two trusts before a 999 call.
Kofi Adeyemi, 15
Stopped by another police force, then persistent school absence.
All names and records in the demo are fictional.
What published reviews found
Victoria Climbié (2000)
Many missed chances across several agencies and councils; led to the Children Act 2004.
Peter Connelly, “Baby P” (2007)
Over 60 contacts in eight months, with warning signs spread across services.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson (2020)
The national review found weaknesses in information sharing and joint risk judgements.
Short summaries of public reviews. Read the full reports for exact findings.
Use it for children, adults, or both.
One timeline that carries on when a young person turns 18.