Social worker visits under a CP plan.

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Moban
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2021 1:39 pm

Social worker visits under a CP plan.

Post by Moban » Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:51 pm

Hi there,
2 children on CP plan due to DA. Both at primary schools and the social worker visits there. They get quite distressed not knowing when he will be there and it seems the social worker is using very leading questions, is it ok to ask if one of the school staff from the core group can be in with the children for these visits? Thank you

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
Posts: 4210
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm

Re: Social worker visits under a CP plan.

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Wed Oct 13, 2021 4:59 pm

Dear Moban,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I will be responding to you today. I am sorry to hear about the difficulties that you and your family are experiencing.

You have two children who are subject to a child protection plan due to concerns about domestic abuse. The social worker visits them at school and you are worried that this is distressing for them and feel that the social worker is using leading questions. You would like to know if you can request that a member of school staff is present during these visits.
I hope that the following advice is helpful to you.

Statutory guidance states that wherever possible the social worker should see the child alone as it is part of their role (and duty) to find out what the child thinks about their situation and what they think may help the family. This guidance is called ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)’ and you can access this here. If you or your children would prefer to have a member of school staff sitting in on the visit then you can ask the social worker and school if that might be possible. However children’s services don’t have to agree for the reasons that I have just outlined.

If you feel that the social worker is asking leading questions then I would suggest that you raise this with them, or with their manager. The social worker should be asking open (rather than leading) questions and developing a trusting relationship with the children so that they feel that they can be open about how they feel and what is happening. If you are not happy with the response that you receive from the social worker or the manager then you could consider making a formal complaint. You can find lots of information about making complaints on our website here.

You say that the children get distressed as they do not know when the social worker will turn up to visit them in school. Again, I would suggest that you discuss this with the social worker and/or their manager, and you request that they inform the school in good time when they will be visiting. If they know when the social worker will be visiting this may reduce some of the anxiety felt by the children.

I hope you find this helpful and should you wish to speak to an adviser, please telephone our free confidential advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday. You are also welcome to post again in this forum.

Best wishes,
Suzie

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