Can I request my social workers manager to visit

[mumof42022]

Not sure if this is the right section to ask this but I have a social worker who is very nasty and her mannerism in my hone is horrible my house is not a risk and my children are well fed clean and clothed I asked her how long she intended to be coming she stated to me 8 weeks she decide when she signs me off ss and she decides when she comes out I advised her that my new baby has his needles coming up and that I all so have other appointments which are vital for my son who has autism she was abruot and said if I am not in when she arrives she will seek for my children to be placed under cp I asked her for her manager to call me and she's refused I just want social services to leave me alone and was wondering if her manager can come out and speak to me and see my home is safe and my children are safe having social services involved is having a massive negative impact on my mental health I've spoken to my GP to see if they can assist me in getting these people away

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Mumof42022

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am FRG’s online adviser. I am sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time and that the involvement and behaviour of the social worker is causing you such stress.

I think that the social worker is undertaking an assessment of your children’s needs. This should be completed in 45 working days – this may be what the social worker meant when she said that she would be involved for about 8 weeks. You can find out more about the assessment process here. The outcome of the assessment is important as this is where the social worker makes a recommendation about whether children’s services should remain involved with your family or not. It will be important to go through the assessment report carefully to ensure that you understand what the social worker is recommending and why and also to ensure that it is as accurate as possible. If there are errors or areas of disagreement you can ask that they be corrected.

The social worker does need to visit you and your children in order to complete her assessment. However, this is usually arranged in advance with you. If a social worker does an unannounced visit and the family is not home she should normally contact you and try to visit again. If a family’s absence raised serious concerns for the welfare of children then children’s services would need to consider what action was needed. However, from the limited information you have provided the social worker’s threat of child protection if you are not home seems quite extreme. It sounds as if you are a busy mother with a baby and an older child with autism as well as 2 other children. It should be possible for the social worker to arrange to meet with you at a convenient time for you both and that you should be able to take your children to any important health appointments during this assessment period. If you miss appointments and immunisations for your children this would be raised as a concern. It might be a good idea to ask the social worker to confirm future appointments with you in advance so that you can attend all appointments with her and with other professionals including health.

You are entitled to ask to speak to the social worker’s manager or for their phone number or email to be provided to you. This is reasonable. If the social worker will not provide this information to you, then you may be able to find out by ringing children’s services’ main contact number or if you need to, by contacting the Complaints department. The manager may not visit you at home but they certainly should speak with you if you have concerns about how the social worker is behaving towards you. If you make a complaint this will first be passed back to the social worker and their manager to respond to so it is in the manager’s best interest to provide clarity or help resolve any difficulties.

It is good that you are in touch with your GP especially as you are finding the current situation so stressful. I hope that they have been able to offer you some support. Also as a health professional involved with your family they can contact children’s services to check what is happening and to ensure they have accurate information about your family’s health and how you engage with them.

These practical tips on working with a social worker may be useful.

I wonder if the following organisations may be of interest to you, for support or information:

Family Lives
Contact
National Autistic Society
Disability support services.

If you would like to talk things through with an adviser please call our freephone advice line on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. or post again on this forum if you have a further query.

Best wishes

Suzie