Local Authority Acting strangely RE SGO and Child Protection

[Allcry]

Hi, I will try to be brief the story is over 6 years.

My setp daughter has applied for an SGO in the middle of my CAO. I applied for this because the mother would not allow any contact for 4 years now 6.
The mother almost did not have a child protection conference (CPC) but I asking, where are my children living?
They were living at the stepdaughter house, the mother had comlaints about her mental health, emotional neglect of the children, and pet, and the house and garden had hoarding issues. And tacked onto this report was my domestic abuse phrased as parental animosity.
The mother and Step daughter during the CPC said that I was a problem and they could not sit in meeting with me, (Video).
I received notice of the SGO application 7 days before the court said yes to an assessment of my stepdaughter. I did not receive an application or written notice.

My request for a parental assessment of myself was not allowed by the court. And the LA has ignored several emails asking for one. My questions to the court experts were not allowed.
I have just been asked whether I agree to the daughter having an SGO by the report writer 14 days before the end.

I said I do not agree. And the report writer was going to be happy with a sentence. I asked for more time to submit a statement and I was told the report will be done by the end month.


If you find the tone above strange. I may have Aspergers, dyslexia, and ADHD. And it has been very emotional for me not seeing my children. This is largely due to my inaction, lack of legal help, and the mother suffering from borderline personality disorder.


Can you advise me on the legal pitfalls above? And possible remedies?

thanks in advance.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Allcry,

Thankyou for your post. You have posted in our Kinship Carers’ Forum but as you are a father can I please ask you in future to post in our Parents’ Forum instead. You can find a link to the correct forum here.

You say that you applied for a child arrangements order as the mother of your children did not allow you to have contact for six years. Since then your step-daughter has applied for a special guardianship order which if granted will give her enhanced parental responsibility for your children. You don’t say if care proceedings are in place at the moment but from the information in your post I don’t think that they are. In that case the court applications are private law matters. It is not within our remit to provide advice regarding private law matters so I would suggest that you contact Child Law Advice (their helpline number is 0300 330 5480), or refer to guides on the Advice Now website. Support Through Court also offer guidance to those who do not have legal representation.

You say that your children are subject to child protection plans. Assuming that you have parental responsibility for your children, you should be fully involved in this process. This means being invited to regular core group meetings, any review child protection conferences and being included in decisions that are made about your children. You say that the mother and your step-daughter said that they did not wish to be in the same meeting as you at a child protection conference – if there is good reason for this then children’s services may decide to hold meetings separately, however you should not be excluded from them. You may wish to request the minutes from any meetings that have already been held if you were not included. If you feel that you are being unfairly excluded then you can make a formal complaint. See our website here for more information and guidance about making complaints.

You may wish to speak with the social worker specifically about your wish to have contact with your children. They may be able to help facilitate this in a way that is safe and in the best interests of the children. However it is important to understand that children’s services have no legal authority to dictate contact arrangements, so it is ultimately up to you to come to an agreement with the mother of your children (and if this is not possible then to pursue this through the court process via a child arrangements order as you have already started to do).

You might find it helpful to look at the pages on our website specifically for fathers. Families Need Fathers are an organisation who help children and families to retain positive relationships after separation or divorce which I hope you find helpful.

I hope that this is of some help. If you would like further advice please call our helpline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm) to speak with one of our advisers, or do post again (but please use the parents’ forum rather than this one).

Best wishes,
Suzie