Dear Monuteds,
Thank you for your web enquiry and thank you for your post.
You say that in October, your wife made some allegations against you and you were remanded. Your wife has some bruising on her. Your wife later withdrew her statement and the case with the police was closed. You deny all allegations. Children's services became involved and initiated a section 47 investigation and recommended a child in need plan but said they would pursue a child protection plan if you were released from prison and reconciled with your wife. You wife has withdrawn her statement since this point. You say that your in-laws are racist towards you and that they have manipulated your wife against you. You say the bruises are from you training your wife in self-defence and not from domestic violence. You say the social worker has lied a lot in their case notes and has not communicated with you. You feel they have painted you in a negative light and that she believes your wife has retracted her statement in fear. You feel she is twisting your words and misrepresenting you. There is going to be an ICPC next week and the social worker has recommended that you do not move back in to the home.
In order to answer your questions:
1. Can I request for them to REDO the section 47 assessment as it is currently biased as the SW did not even comminicate with my self until after she had completed the assessment?
It is unlikely that the social worker will 'redo' the section 47 investigation. I would advise that you go through the assessment and make notes of things you may not agree with and why you do not agree with these things. Please note, there is a difference between factual inaccuracies, which should be straightforward to correct, and the social worker's professional opinion at the time of writing the report.
You can write a letter with your 'version of events' and ask that this be attached to the report to be read in conjunction.
You can raise your concerns about the report and your lack of involvement in writing to the social worker and to the team manager. You may want to also make a formal complaint about this - take a look
here for more information on how to do this. I would also advise that you raise this directly with the conference chair prior to the conference and remember, you can also bring this up during the conference itself.
2. Is it a good idea to complain about the SW lying and setting forth her own agenda to paint a bad picture of me?
As a parent, you have a right to make a complaint if you feel you have been treated unfairly and this complaint should be looked into in a fair and balanced way. The stages of a formal complaint are outlined in the above link.
3. By law, are the SS supposed to communicate with me during the S47 Enquiries?
As a parent, you should be included in the section 47 enquiries, and your views and opinions sought. You can read the statutory guidance on how assessments should be carried out in a document called
working together to safeguard children.
4. 60% of the casenotes are factually incorrect and baseless and make me look very evil. Will my complaints give us the opportunity to have the assessments redone?
As part of your complaint, the assessment may be looked at. Please remember that factual inaccuracies are different from a difference you may have with the social worker's professional opinion. You can ask as part of your complaint for an intended outcome, which will be considered. If you are not happy with the initial response to your complaint, you can escalate this further.
You may also find it useful to read our webpage on child protection
here, which may answer any other questions you have.
Best wishes,
Suzie.