Worried about what social services will do
Worried about what social services will do
My husband was arrested on suspicion of sharing sexual image taken without consent. All adult related and no suggestions the image was taken without consent. He was bailed for 3 months we think it’s a mistake but it’s not the main concern. The the arrest has resulted in the police finding that he has a juvenile conviction for indecent assault, 35 years ago, he was 12-13 with conviction at 14-15 which resulted in a 3 year supervision order. As part of that it came to light that he had been abused as a child before this and what he did was a result of that. He completed the order and has never had any issues since. He told me about this when we first met 20 years ago so I have always know. As a result of his arrest the police have informed social services as we have a 5 year old son. We’ve had one phone call from them saying they are doing an assessment and would contact his school, they told us they would inform school of my husband’s arrest and his historical conviction at a high level (date and what it was for) and we’ve heard nothing since, we think as it’s been over Christmas. We are not clear if they have the right to share this detail with the school in doing this so are checking legally but we are worried now about what social services will do. They have not talked to us beyond one short phone call to tell me they were doing this, not visited or talked to our son or allowed us to explain any of the background. Looking for support on what could happen, anything we can do, if we should contact a family lawyer or do anything else as we need my husband to be able to look after our son as I travel for work. We plan to talk to the school and explain the history of the historical conviction so they know the background, if anything it makes my husband even more aware and protective of our son not a risk but we are worried they won’t care
Re: Worried about what social services will do
Hi TJD357,
I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this, it’s understandably frightening, especially when historic information is being pulled into the present with very little explanation or involvement from you.
There are a few important things to ground you here, because what’s happening at the moment is process-driven, not a finding against your husband or your parenting.
First, some reassurance.
A referral to children’s services following an arrest is procedural, not a judgment. The fact that your husband has a historic conviction from 35 years ago, committed when he was a child himself, with no further concerns for decades, is highly relevant. Children’s services are legally required to assess current risk, not punish people indefinitely for childhood behaviour , especially where there has been insight, rehabilitation, and a long, stable family life since.
From what you’ve described so far, one phone call, no visit, no speaking to your son, delays over Christmas , this sounds like an initial or single assessment, not child protection action. That is not how things move when there is believed to be an immediate safeguarding risk.
About sharing information with the school
You’re right to pause on this.
Social services and police do have the power to share information, but it must be necessary, proportionate, and relevant under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. Sharing criminal history is classed as special category data, and there must be a clear safeguarding justification.
A spent juvenile conviction from 35 years ago, particularly where there is no current concern about your child, is something you are entitled to question. You can ask children’s services to explain what legal gateway they are relying on and why the sharing is necessary now.
That said, one of the most protective things you can do is not wait for a vague or alarming version to reach the school first.
Speaking to the school, taking control of the narrative
It is sensible to request a meeting with the Headteacher or Designated Safeguarding Lead yourself.
You don’t need to over-explain or defend. You can simply say something like this
“We wanted to speak to you directly so you have context. My husband is currently under investigation relating to adult images, which we believe is a misunderstanding. As part of that, a juvenile conviction from over 35 years ago, when he was himself a child and later supported following abuse, has been raised. There have been no concerns since, and he has been a safe, protective parent to our son. We wanted you to hear this from us directly.”
This shows openness, insight, and protective parenting. When schools hear context from parents first, it often prevents panic or misinterpretation later.
The assessment and your husband’s role
Children’s services cannot require your husband to leave the home, stop caring for your son, or impose restrictions unless the following is in play
*there is evidence of current risk, or
*you agree voluntarily, or
*there is a court order.
If anyone suggests “safety plans” or informal agreements that restrict him, you are entitled to say you need time and legal advice before agreeing.
A key question you are allowed to ask is:
“What has changed in the last five years that makes him a risk now, other than historic information?”
The 'Adult' Distinction: The arrest is for an adult-to-adult matter. The LA must explain exactly how a dispute between adults translates to a risk to your son. They cannot just say 'sexual offence = child risk.' That is a legal error.
Practical next steps for you
You might find it helpful to send a short, calm email to children’s services to put your position on record but to make sure all your legalities are in place. Here’s a draft you could adapt:
--------
Subject: URGENT: Contextual Information and Data Proportionality – [Child’s Name]
Dear [Social Worker’s Name],
Further to our brief conversation, I am writing to provide context and to seek clarification regarding the assessment of our family.
While we are willing to engage with your assessment, we have significant concerns regarding the proportionality of the proposed information-sharing with our son’s school.
1. Historic Context vs. Current Reality The juvenile conviction from 35 years ago relates to a period when my husband was himself a child victim of abuse. This matter is over three decades old, was fully addressed via a Supervision Order at the time, and is a "spent" conviction under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. There have been no concerns in the 35 years following.
2. Data Proportionality and Disclosure to School We understand that the Local Authority has a power to share information, but under the Data Protection Act 2018, this must be necessary and proportionate.
The current investigation involves a privacy dispute between consenting adults with no child-related element.
Our son has been safely parented by both of us for 5 years without any safeguarding concerns.
We fail to see how disclosing a 35-year-old juvenile record to a primary school is proportionate to a current assessment where no risk to the child has been identified. Such a disclosure could cause unnecessary stigma and prejudice against our son and our family.
3. Clarification Required Before any further contact is made with the school, we request in writing:
The specific Legal Gateway (e.g., Section of the Children Act or GDPR Article) being used to justify sharing spent juvenile data with a third party in this context.
Confirmation of whether this is a Section 17 (Child in Need) or a Section 47 (Child Protection) assessment.
A copy of your Privacy Notice regarding how you handle and disclose sensitive criminal data.
We are ready to meet with you immediately to discuss this and demonstrate that our son is safe, happy, and well cared for. We simply ask that this process remains evidence-based and focused on the current safety of our child, rather than historic black-and-white records.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
----------------
Finally, it’s completely reasonable to speak to a family law solicitor, even just for a one-off appointment, to steady your footing and make sure your rights are protected.
Nothing you’ve said suggests inevitable escalation. The law does not support removing or restricting a parent based solely on historic, juvenile, spent convictions with no current risk.
-----------
For transparency, I’m not an official adviser, just a parent sharing peer support and practical guidance. I have been through a long legal battle with the La and now give advice
I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this, it’s understandably frightening, especially when historic information is being pulled into the present with very little explanation or involvement from you.
There are a few important things to ground you here, because what’s happening at the moment is process-driven, not a finding against your husband or your parenting.
First, some reassurance.
A referral to children’s services following an arrest is procedural, not a judgment. The fact that your husband has a historic conviction from 35 years ago, committed when he was a child himself, with no further concerns for decades, is highly relevant. Children’s services are legally required to assess current risk, not punish people indefinitely for childhood behaviour , especially where there has been insight, rehabilitation, and a long, stable family life since.
From what you’ve described so far, one phone call, no visit, no speaking to your son, delays over Christmas , this sounds like an initial or single assessment, not child protection action. That is not how things move when there is believed to be an immediate safeguarding risk.
About sharing information with the school
You’re right to pause on this.
Social services and police do have the power to share information, but it must be necessary, proportionate, and relevant under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. Sharing criminal history is classed as special category data, and there must be a clear safeguarding justification.
A spent juvenile conviction from 35 years ago, particularly where there is no current concern about your child, is something you are entitled to question. You can ask children’s services to explain what legal gateway they are relying on and why the sharing is necessary now.
That said, one of the most protective things you can do is not wait for a vague or alarming version to reach the school first.
Speaking to the school, taking control of the narrative
It is sensible to request a meeting with the Headteacher or Designated Safeguarding Lead yourself.
You don’t need to over-explain or defend. You can simply say something like this
“We wanted to speak to you directly so you have context. My husband is currently under investigation relating to adult images, which we believe is a misunderstanding. As part of that, a juvenile conviction from over 35 years ago, when he was himself a child and later supported following abuse, has been raised. There have been no concerns since, and he has been a safe, protective parent to our son. We wanted you to hear this from us directly.”
This shows openness, insight, and protective parenting. When schools hear context from parents first, it often prevents panic or misinterpretation later.
The assessment and your husband’s role
Children’s services cannot require your husband to leave the home, stop caring for your son, or impose restrictions unless the following is in play
*there is evidence of current risk, or
*you agree voluntarily, or
*there is a court order.
If anyone suggests “safety plans” or informal agreements that restrict him, you are entitled to say you need time and legal advice before agreeing.
A key question you are allowed to ask is:
“What has changed in the last five years that makes him a risk now, other than historic information?”
The 'Adult' Distinction: The arrest is for an adult-to-adult matter. The LA must explain exactly how a dispute between adults translates to a risk to your son. They cannot just say 'sexual offence = child risk.' That is a legal error.
Practical next steps for you
You might find it helpful to send a short, calm email to children’s services to put your position on record but to make sure all your legalities are in place. Here’s a draft you could adapt:
--------
Subject: URGENT: Contextual Information and Data Proportionality – [Child’s Name]
Dear [Social Worker’s Name],
Further to our brief conversation, I am writing to provide context and to seek clarification regarding the assessment of our family.
While we are willing to engage with your assessment, we have significant concerns regarding the proportionality of the proposed information-sharing with our son’s school.
1. Historic Context vs. Current Reality The juvenile conviction from 35 years ago relates to a period when my husband was himself a child victim of abuse. This matter is over three decades old, was fully addressed via a Supervision Order at the time, and is a "spent" conviction under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. There have been no concerns in the 35 years following.
2. Data Proportionality and Disclosure to School We understand that the Local Authority has a power to share information, but under the Data Protection Act 2018, this must be necessary and proportionate.
The current investigation involves a privacy dispute between consenting adults with no child-related element.
Our son has been safely parented by both of us for 5 years without any safeguarding concerns.
We fail to see how disclosing a 35-year-old juvenile record to a primary school is proportionate to a current assessment where no risk to the child has been identified. Such a disclosure could cause unnecessary stigma and prejudice against our son and our family.
3. Clarification Required Before any further contact is made with the school, we request in writing:
The specific Legal Gateway (e.g., Section of the Children Act or GDPR Article) being used to justify sharing spent juvenile data with a third party in this context.
Confirmation of whether this is a Section 17 (Child in Need) or a Section 47 (Child Protection) assessment.
A copy of your Privacy Notice regarding how you handle and disclose sensitive criminal data.
We are ready to meet with you immediately to discuss this and demonstrate that our son is safe, happy, and well cared for. We simply ask that this process remains evidence-based and focused on the current safety of our child, rather than historic black-and-white records.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
----------------
Finally, it’s completely reasonable to speak to a family law solicitor, even just for a one-off appointment, to steady your footing and make sure your rights are protected.
Nothing you’ve said suggests inevitable escalation. The law does not support removing or restricting a parent based solely on historic, juvenile, spent convictions with no current risk.
-----------
For transparency, I’m not an official adviser, just a parent sharing peer support and practical guidance. I have been through a long legal battle with the La and now give advice
-
Suzie, FRG Adviser
- Posts: 4831
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 1:57 pm
Re: Worried about what social services will do
Dear TJD357,
Welcome to the parents’ forum and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am the online adviser for Family Rights Group. I hope that the following advice and information is helpful to you. Please click on the links to take you to more advice and information.
Firstly, I am sorry to hear about this stressful and difficult situation. I imagine this must be very unsettling for you, especially as you have not heard anything since the initial phone call you received before Christmas.
You have explained that children’s services have told you that they are going to carry out an assessment and will be in contact with your son’s school. They have said that they would share details of your husband’s arrest and details about his historical conviction. You are unsure whether they have the right to share this information with the school.
When children’s services carry out an assessment they must do this either under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, or under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. A section 17 assessment is also known as a child in need assessment, and a section 47 assessment is known as a child protection assessment (or investigation). A child in need assessment aims to identify if a child needs any extra support or services to help them to achieve or maintain ‘a reasonable standard of health or development’. A child protection assessment aims to determine whether a child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm. A child protection assessment is a higher level of intervention, as concerns centre around whether a child is at risk of harm.
I think that it would be helpful for you to contact children’s services to ask them to tell you what type of assessment they are carrying out. You will then have a better idea as to their level of concern.
It is important to point out that a child in need assessment can only be carried out with the consent of the parent(s) (or anyone else with parental responsibility. See HERE for more information about this. However a child protection assessment will be carried out even if the parent(s) do not consent to this. This is because the enquiries are being made in response to concern a child may be suffering significant harm or is likely to. When concerns are about that level of harm, children’s services can become involved even if this is against the family’s wishes, to ensure a child is safe.
You can find more information about child in need assessments HERE, and about child protection assessments HERE. These webpages also explain the processes to expect if children’s services continue to carry out an assessment.
You say that you are getting some legal advice regarding the information that children’s services have shared with your son’s school. As Winter25 has explained, children’s services do have the power to share information with other agencies, but this must be proportionate and for the purpose of safeguarding a child. Hopefully the legal advice you receive will help clarify this for you.
As you have suggested you will do, it may be helpful for you to speak with the school yourself to explain the background. You can also contact children’s services yourself, rather than waiting for them to contact you again, to ask them to clarify what their next steps will be.
You ask whether you should contact a family lawyer for further advice. You have the right to do this, of course, and it may be helpful for you, but it is not necessary at this point. It may be more helpful to wait until you are clear about what type of assessment children’s services are undertaking and what their next steps are. You can then decide whether you wish to seek legal advice.
You say that you travel for work and so your husband looks after your son on his own at times. It sounds like you are concerned that this might be a problem, and that children’s services might not be in agreement with this. Ultimately, as you and your husband have parental responsibility for your son, it is your decision about who looks after him. Children’s services do not have the legal jurisdiction to ‘tell’ your husband that he cannot look after your son. However, they can make recommendations, and it is important that you understand the possible consequences of ignoring their recommendations (if, indeed, they do make any recommendations regarding this). If parents do ignore recommendations made by children’s services, and children’s services are concerned that this places a child at risk of significant harm, then they may consider escalating their involvement to the child protection process, the pre-proceedings process or court proceedings. (Please click on the links for more information about these). Therefore it is important to have transparent conversations with the social worker about possible consequences if recommendations are made which you do not agree with, or do not intend to follow. You can then make an informed decision.
I hope that this is of some help. Please post again if you have any further queries or you can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm). We also have a webchat which is currently open on Monday and Thursday afternoons.
Best wishes,
Suzie
Welcome to the parents’ forum and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am the online adviser for Family Rights Group. I hope that the following advice and information is helpful to you. Please click on the links to take you to more advice and information.
Firstly, I am sorry to hear about this stressful and difficult situation. I imagine this must be very unsettling for you, especially as you have not heard anything since the initial phone call you received before Christmas.
You have explained that children’s services have told you that they are going to carry out an assessment and will be in contact with your son’s school. They have said that they would share details of your husband’s arrest and details about his historical conviction. You are unsure whether they have the right to share this information with the school.
When children’s services carry out an assessment they must do this either under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, or under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. A section 17 assessment is also known as a child in need assessment, and a section 47 assessment is known as a child protection assessment (or investigation). A child in need assessment aims to identify if a child needs any extra support or services to help them to achieve or maintain ‘a reasonable standard of health or development’. A child protection assessment aims to determine whether a child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm. A child protection assessment is a higher level of intervention, as concerns centre around whether a child is at risk of harm.
I think that it would be helpful for you to contact children’s services to ask them to tell you what type of assessment they are carrying out. You will then have a better idea as to their level of concern.
It is important to point out that a child in need assessment can only be carried out with the consent of the parent(s) (or anyone else with parental responsibility. See HERE for more information about this. However a child protection assessment will be carried out even if the parent(s) do not consent to this. This is because the enquiries are being made in response to concern a child may be suffering significant harm or is likely to. When concerns are about that level of harm, children’s services can become involved even if this is against the family’s wishes, to ensure a child is safe.
You can find more information about child in need assessments HERE, and about child protection assessments HERE. These webpages also explain the processes to expect if children’s services continue to carry out an assessment.
You say that you are getting some legal advice regarding the information that children’s services have shared with your son’s school. As Winter25 has explained, children’s services do have the power to share information with other agencies, but this must be proportionate and for the purpose of safeguarding a child. Hopefully the legal advice you receive will help clarify this for you.
As you have suggested you will do, it may be helpful for you to speak with the school yourself to explain the background. You can also contact children’s services yourself, rather than waiting for them to contact you again, to ask them to clarify what their next steps will be.
You ask whether you should contact a family lawyer for further advice. You have the right to do this, of course, and it may be helpful for you, but it is not necessary at this point. It may be more helpful to wait until you are clear about what type of assessment children’s services are undertaking and what their next steps are. You can then decide whether you wish to seek legal advice.
You say that you travel for work and so your husband looks after your son on his own at times. It sounds like you are concerned that this might be a problem, and that children’s services might not be in agreement with this. Ultimately, as you and your husband have parental responsibility for your son, it is your decision about who looks after him. Children’s services do not have the legal jurisdiction to ‘tell’ your husband that he cannot look after your son. However, they can make recommendations, and it is important that you understand the possible consequences of ignoring their recommendations (if, indeed, they do make any recommendations regarding this). If parents do ignore recommendations made by children’s services, and children’s services are concerned that this places a child at risk of significant harm, then they may consider escalating their involvement to the child protection process, the pre-proceedings process or court proceedings. (Please click on the links for more information about these). Therefore it is important to have transparent conversations with the social worker about possible consequences if recommendations are made which you do not agree with, or do not intend to follow. You can then make an informed decision.
I hope that this is of some help. Please post again if you have any further queries or you can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm). We also have a webchat which is currently open on Monday and Thursday afternoons.
Best wishes,
Suzie
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