MY RIGHTS

[RURALFATHER]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting and I really could do with some advice.

My 9 year old son lives with his mother in **** and I reside in ****, we split when he was 18 months old, I have parental rights and I am named on his birth certificate and he also has my surname.

To keep harmony I always pick him up from his grandparents (on his mothers side), he came down to ****l with me a for a week and
the covid 19 lockdown came into force, while here all manner of things came to fruition, firstly it was agreed with his grandparents that he
should stay with me and that his grandfather said it was up to him and not his mum, which I thought was odd, it turns out that he has been
living with them 90% of the time since he was two, he has not seen his mother since Christmas and unbeknown to my son she had given
birth to his 2nd brother during lockdown, he did not even know she was pregnant.

As he was not and has not been living with his mother as the original court order states I filed for an emergency court hearing with a C100 including mediation,

We have just had the 1st initial hearing and the judge ordered him to go back to his grandparents stating that Social services were involved
with my son and his mother and that was the reason to send him back.

My son desperately wants to live with me and I want him here with my wife and his sister, I own my own business and home and we have a
great life in *** and he would be the icing on the cake.

Sorry I have rambled on, What I need advice with is that no one will enlighten me to why Social Services are involved, surely if my son is
involved or his mother who is meant to be the guardian he lives with I have a right to know.

Does anyone know if I have a legal right to know why they are involved and how I go about obtaining this information, I would be so
grateful for any advice given

Regards Ruralfather

***Amended by Suzie for confidentiality reasons.

[Robin D]

Hi Rural father.

You need to repost your request on the parents forum at https://www.frg.org.uk/ParentsForum/. This forum is for those concerned with or caring for children of family or friends.

One thing before you go, PR stands for parental responsibility, not rights. The child has rights, including the right to express an opinion provided it's consistent with their welfare and taking into account their age and development. You have responsibilities.

Strange ruling from the court. I wonder if you have been given the full facts. I believe if SS are involved, they would normally contact everyone with PR.

Good luck. ... Robin

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear RURALFATHER

Thank you for posting. As Robin has pointed out in his response to your post, you have posted on the wrong forum. He has given some good advice regarding parental responsibility. Please read our advice sheet Parental Responsibility.

Regarding the position with children’s services involvement with your son’s mother, since you do have parental responsibility for your son, they should have informed you of their concerns regarding your son. Please see information here .

You may also find it helpful to read our advice sheet An introductory guide to Children’s Services

As you are already involved in a court relating to where your son should live, it will be for the court to make the final decision about what is in your son’s best interests based on the evidence including your son’s wishes and feelings. If you do not have legal representation in the case, you can contact this organisation, Child Law Advice 0300 330 5480 as they advise on private law matters in which you are currently involved in court.

Should you have any further queries relating to children's services, please post on the parents discussion forum.

Best wishes

Suzie