s47 child protection plan

[Lht98]

Hey so I’m not to sure how to even start this. But in the beginning of jan there was a drunken incident between me and my partner, our children was not present. But on Monday I had SS come round as they have put it as a section 47, which has been to conference and we are on a plan now. At the end of this meeting nothing makes any sense to me. My partner isn’t allowed to see his children until he has a risk assessment, but now a week later I still have not got a copy of the plan! But everyone else seem to, I have emailed the chair /sw and no one will get back to me they ignore my calls and they are really driving me insane because I am that stressed from it all. The SW was a bit of an idiot didn’t explain nothing to me with regards to what was happening, and now here I am. Stuck and confused and so bloody tired! Any advice would be Great on what I can do

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Lht98,

Welcome to the parents' board and thank you for your post.

You say in your post that at the beginning of January there was a drunken incident between you and your partner; this led to a section 47 investigation and your children are now subject to a child protection plan. Your partner has been told he is not allowed to see the children until he has been risk-assessed but you have not yet received a copy of the plan and feel as though nothing makes sense. You have tried to contact the social worker and the CP chair and have received no response. You are looking for some advice around what you can do.

Firstly, I am sorry to hear that things have not been explained properly to you and that this had led to you feeling stressed and confused. Children's services initiate child protection enquiries when they have concerns that a child or children have suffered or are at risk of significant harm. At the child protection conference, the chair agreed that this was the case and that is why your children are now on a child protection plan.

During the conference, it should have been made clear to you why your children were being placed on a plan and the process of developing the child protection plan should have been collaborative. It is important that following the conference, you receive a copy of the minutes, the Chairs' report and the child protection plan. The child protection plan will be reviewed at the first core group meeting, which should take place no more than 10 days after the conference. I would advise that you communicate your concerns to the social worker in writing and ask for a meeting as soon as possible so that they can explain to you why the plan is being put in place; what is expected of you and your partner and what the next steps are. You say you have tried to contact the social worker with no luck; you may find it useful to contact the local MASH number for your children's services department and ask to speak to your social worker or the duty social worker.

If you feel as though you were not properly included in the conference and that it was held in a way that was unfair, I would advise that you firstly speak to the CP chair about this. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you may want to make a formal complaint. Take a look here for information on how to do this.

If you continue to receive poor communication from the social worker, you may also want to make a formal complaint about this. Take a look here for more information on this.

I think it would be helpful for you to take a look at our page on child protection, which explains a bit more on what you can expect from a child protection plan, how they are reviewed and what may happen next.

I hope you have found this helpful.

Best wishes,

Suzie.