Court proceedings

[Hello]

I’m being taken to court because of what the social worker said in her report. My partner smacked our daughter causing bruising he does use chastisement very rarely and now the social worker is taking us both to court as she said I didn’t intervene which is untrue as I did she’s stated a lot of untruths in the report and now I need to have my mum here to supervise I can’t believe this is happening can I get my solicitor to stop my going to court if it is found the reports are untrue.

[Robin D]

To answer your last question first, no your solicitor cannot stop the application to the court.

The problem of social workers telling lies often comes up here. If you fight it on that basis, you will struggle. Taking the line that the sw is mistaken, or has drawn conclusions based on incorrect evidence is a different matter. All that said, it appears from what you say that your partner used unreasonable chastisement, and the child was injured. You do not say how old she, but assuming she is small, the child needs protection.

I can only suggest you work with the SW, accepting their concerns and see how things might be improved. Your partner too would need to show they are prepared to accept the hey crossed the line. If he is unable or unwilling to do so, then you have a choice to make. The safety of your daughter in your care without him or accept whatever the court decides is necessary to protect her. One such option may be that she lives with your mum, but all options will be explored.
Simply claiming it's all lies is not going to help I am afraid. The fact that a child was injured seems to be the core evidence.

[Hello]

But the point is she has made false accusations that I have condoned chastisement which is not true and this has led to me having to be supervised by my mum and to attend court .

[Robin D]

Ok.. I understand that now. The difficulty is that they need to take action when a child has injuries, and as the child's parent, you have to be part of it. Even if the SW had not concluded you stood by and did nothing, you would still be a respondent in the court case as the parent. You will have plenty of opportunity to put your side of the story, but that may not be before the court makes an interim care order to protect the child from further harm.
If the court does make an interim order, the local authority will them make the decision about where the child should live. It would seem they are content your mother will ensure safety which you should encourage if you cannot have the child with you. Once the child leaves the family, it gets more difficult.

If you have any evidence that you tried to intervene or a witness, make sure you get it all written down and to your solicitor. Should you decide your relationship with your partner is over, then walk away now and have nothing more to do with them.

I am afraid this will go on for a good while. If your mum needs advice there are plenty of advice sheets on the main frg site. Typing this on a phone so putting links in is difficult.

Good luck... Robin