First of all to Sandy, I’m glad that you are feeling more positive about things now and that you have support from your partner, his family and the SW. It’s great that you are trying to maintain a positive relationship with her.
To Ange, thanks for all the support you’ve given to Sandy. It’s great for parents to get support from other people who have been in a similar situation rather than just advice from us.
There are a couple of legal points in your posts that I want to clear up though as they are not technically correct.
There is no such thing as a “police protection order.” The term is “police protection.” I know this is a minor point but using the word “order” makes it seem like something that the court decides, which it is not. The decision to take a child into police protection (PP) is made by the police only. It is also not something that a social worker can decide. The SW can only ask the police if they will exercise their powers. It is then for the police to decide whether they will or won’t.It is possible the Social Workers will arrange for the baby to be removed from your care at birth although this may not happen if you work with them appropriately and follow all their advice.If they will not work with you because of your past record as often happens ,they may decide to take the baby at birth using a Police Protection Order..Although it is illegal for them to do so, this does not deter them as they thus achieve a fait accompli and they are granted great latitude later in court on the grounds that anything they do is in the interests of 'at risk' children.Possession is half the Law.Try and forestall this by discussing the situation with your ante-natal consultant ( take someone to support you) and point out to him that the baby should not be removed from your care by anyone without a valid court order.Enlist his help well before the birth and ask him to make notes of your maternal capabilities.
Also, it is not illegal for CS to ask the police to use PP at birth. What CS should do is plan with you during the pregnancy what will happen and if appropriate begin the legal planning process. It is bad practice for them to jump in at birth without doing anything before hand if they had concerns, but it is not illegal to ask for PP if they think the child is at immediate risk of harm.
As regards parental responsibility,I can only advise you that if father is on the birth certificate ,this does not guarantee he has parental responsibility in the event of care-proceedings. The only thing which will do so is if you get married shotgun before the birth or apply to court as I have described
This is also not correct. Legally, if a child’s birth has been registered on or after 1st December 2003 and the father is named on the birth certificate then he has parental responsibility (PR), irrespective of whether CS has a Care Order. There is no need to apply to the registrar; this does not give you PR. If CS does get a (Interim) Care Order then they also get PR, which they can use to overrule both mum and dad’s PR. That is the only difference.
I hope this clears a few things up.
Best wishes
Suzie