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Overview

Agencies in Signal represent external organizations you work with for safeguarding matters. Tracking your communications and referrals to these agencies helps maintain a complete safeguarding record for each student.

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What Are Agencies?

Agencies are external organizations involved in safeguarding, such as:
  • Social services
  • CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
  • Police
  • Educational psychology services
  • Early help services
  • Domestic abuse support services
  • Youth offending teams
  • NHS services

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Creating Agencies

  1. Navigate to Settings in the main menu
  2. Select Agencies from the settings options
  3. Click Add Agency
  4. Enter the agency name (e.g., “Local Authority Social Services”)
  5. Click Save
Use clear, specific names that distinguish between agencies. For example, “North Area Social Services” is more useful than just “Social Services”.

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Managing Agencies

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Editing Agency Details

  1. Navigate to Settings > Agencies
  2. Find the agency you want to update
  3. Click Edit
  4. Update the information
  5. Click Save
Keep agency contact details up to date. Outdated information can delay critical referrals.

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Archiving Agencies

For agencies you no longer work with:
  1. Navigate to Settings > Agencies
  2. Find the agency you want to archive
  3. Click Archive
  4. Confirm the action
Archived agencies:
  • Don’t appear in dropdown menus for new incidents
  • Remain visible on historical incident records
  • Can be unarchived if you resume working with them

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Using Agencies with Incidents

Once agencies are configured, you can:
  • Record referrals to agencies on incident records
  • Track which agencies are involved with each student
  • Log communications and outcomes from agency interactions
  • Maintain a complete chronology of multi-agency work
For more details, see Managing Incidents.

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Best Practices

Add the specific local offices or teams you work with, not just national services. “North Area Social Services” is more useful than “Social Services”.
Review and update your agency list periodically. Archive agencies you no longer work with and add new ones as your partnerships evolve.
Ensure staff know which agencies to contact for different concerns and how to record agency involvement in Signal incidents.

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Compliance and Recordkeeping

Accurate agency records support:
  • Audit trails: Demonstrate appropriate multi-agency working
  • Ofsted inspections: Show effective safeguarding partnerships
  • Serious case reviews: Provide clear chronology of agency involvement
  • Data protection: Maintain lawful records of information sharing

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Pre-Populated Agency List

Signal can help you get started by providing a list of common agencies. Contact support if you’d like to import a standard set of agencies for your region.

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Next Steps

Connect Your MIS

Integrate with your Management Information System to sync student data