Considering removing consent for section 20

[ange301126]

Dear JXH, you should check with the helpline but if I was you I would collect the boy.You have parental responsibility . I certainly wouldn't give them the seven days they are asking for.If you take that advice you must be daft. They are exceeding their powers.

As your boy wants to be with you ,they will have to apply for an emergency protection order to keep him from you. As there is no emergency to him and he wants to be at home,they can only get an order if they can show he will be at significant risk of imminent harm in your care.He will have to be in immediate danger of harm. What a shame you trusted them and didn't rescind the S20 ages ago!

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear JXH,

I am sorry to hear about the decisions that children services have made. I understand they want to support grandmother to seek a residence order in respect of your son. In response you have withdrawn your consent to your son’s accommodation with grandmother.

Children services have asked for 7 days in which to seek a court order. Have you agreed to this timescale?
First, if you have not a got a solicitor, can you find one who specialises in children law and who is accredited by the Law Society to undertake children law).Your solicitor, will be able to look at the parenting assessment and check that it is fair and advise about withdrawing the section 20 agreement.

As part of the pre proceedings protocol, they may be able to access legal aid to advice and assist you before any public law care proceedings are issued.

You should also look at any issues that have been raised in the parenting assessment and see how you can address them. For example, your GP says you are upset by the current situation and don’t have any mental heath problems. Children services do not agree. A report from your GP may back up your position. Would you agree to accessing an assessment and counselling support they suggest?

Children services suggest that you are putting your exes need for contact above the safety of your son.They also say your son is petrified of him. They say you do not recognise this.
Has your ex engaged with any risk assessment? If not, then children services will only have what your son has said as part of their assessment. They may have to assume that your exe is dangerous to your son and will want you to take steps to protect your son before he can come into your home.
They say you have to stop his contact. Can your exe have contact somewhere else? A contact centre? Or can a friend or family member be assessed in relation to his contact.

If grandmother is supported to issue an application for a child arrangements order, (that replaces a residence order) then the court may make an interim order, while they obtain a welfare report.
The welfare report will look at what is in your son’s best interests. Because of children services involvement, the court is likely to ask that they prepare the report to help the court decide where your son should live. They are likely to use the parenting assessment as part of the report.

Anything you can do to address their concerns, while also pointing out all the positives in your parenting will help.

To discuss in depth, you could also call our advice line on 0808 801 0366.
Best wishes,
Suzie

[ange301126]

Dear JXH,

As Mum it is your parental responsibility to put the welfare of your son paramount and in doing so you have a fundamental duty to take into account his wishes and feelings.
Social work assessments are secondary to his welfare.

My advice is to take him home now.It will be most unwise and harmful to the child were you to give them further time to prepare a court application.

I say this because POSSESSION IS NINE-TENTHS of the Law.. If in seven days , the lad is placed with his grandparent in a place of safety,,a judge will order he remains there pending proceedings. Likewise if he were in L.A care.
If he is at home with you in a place of safety and he expresses his wish to be with you,the judge will leave him with you.

Present the Judge with a fait-accomplis which is what they are aiming to do.

This advice may not match that of your solicitor . It may not be theoretically correct; others may say continue cooperating. Ask yourself where has it got you so far? Also what does your son wish to happen?

[JXH]

My son keeps telling me that he loves me and he can't wait to come home, on one occasion my ex partner was at my house when my mother turned up on my doorstep unexpectedly with both of my son's for contact with me not knowing that he was at mine, soon as the kids knew he was here they were both begging me to let them see him jumping up and down all excited, of course I did not allow it and I had to make a plan to see them away from my house, But my point is that the normal behaviour of a child who is "petrified" of a man? my son has also told me during contact that he wishes he was home and my ex to come home too and he wanted me to tell him that he is sorry for saying bad things about him. yet social services say that my son is happy living at my parents house and feel's "free" and he is worried he will see my ex if he comes home and has apparently told them that I plan to move away with him or move him to another school which worries him, this just suggests to me that my mother is saying things to him because I have never suggested I wanted to do that, he also said yesterday during contact that I'm going to live with my ex again but I have no plan to as that would have a very negative impact on things.

The problem around my ex seeing our baby son somewhere away from my home is that our son is not bottle fed and totally dependant on me at the moment and I have to supervise my ex around him, my ex also lives around 40 miles away and he works long hours.

The social services have now planned a legal meeting after I withdrew my consent, they are now planning on getting a Placement order for my son and a Supervision order for my baby son. I haven't brought my son home because my solicitor advised me not to as she thinks it would be a negative thing to do and it would go against me in court. I am also considering going to my local MP about how I have been treated by the Social Services and my whole situation.

[ange301126]

Dear JXH,

If you think it will be a negative thing to do,it is your decision.You have the parental responsibility. Only you have the overall view and knowledge of the truth. As part of that, only you know what will be best for the welfare of your son.
Does your son think it will be a negative move? You have a duty to take his wishes and views into account. Has your previous cooperation had positive results?

This is a very difficult call you have to make in a very short time.

To help you, I suggest you have a good read of these forums which will give you a good insight and an idea of negative and positive outcomes. Also the timescales involved.

Please make the right decision now for your son.Next week,it will be in the hands of a judge.
If you decide discretion is the better part of valour ( many of us do)and go along with your solicitor, then I suggest that you instruct him to call upon your son to give his opinions to the judge if it is possible.The judge has to take his views into account.

Hope this helps and I hope other parents will add their own advice. Have you contacted the FRG helpline?