Safeguarding referrals - fearing inaccuracies?

[grievingmum]

Our daughter (17) is in an adolescent psychiatric unit. Since her admission, two safeguarding referrals in connection with us, her family, have been made to children's services. I know OF them - but not details of their contents.

I've since found out, by chance, that at least some things in the first referral were misrepresentations/without context (for example, depicting as abusive a safety arrangement advised by her CAMHS therapist).

This referral was originally marked as 'no further action until discharge'. However, my daughter and I then had an awful fight about 10 days later, which prompted the second referral. (I was completely transparent about the fight, reported it immediately to the unit and cooperated fully with their questions.) As a result of the second referral, the first is now being revisited.

The second referral has taken several weeks to be accepted and to have a social worker allocated - it's now six weeks since the fight. I've just spoken to the social worker for the first time. She read me some of the referral. There are inaccuracies in how my report was taken down by nursing staff, and there are untruths in what my daughter has said.

Is there a way I can request the text of the safeguarding referrals? And if I do so, how should I then go about providing my version of what I believe to be inaccurate? Or is this all a massive waste of time, and it doesn't really matter that the information is wrong?

I would be very grateful of advice here. Thank you.

[KatKat10]

put in a subject of access request, as they will have to give you anything that pertains to you.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Our daughter (17) is in an adolescent psychiatric unit. Since her admission, two safeguarding referrals in connection with us, her family, have been made to children's services. I know OF them - but not details of their contents.

I've since found out, by chance, that at least some things in the first referral were misrepresentations/without context (for example, depicting as abusive a safety arrangement advised by her CAMHS therapist).

This referral was originally marked as 'no further action until discharge'. However, my daughter and I then had an awful fight about 10 days later, which prompted the second referral. (I was completely transparent about the fight, reported it immediately to the unit and cooperated fully with their questions.) As a result of the second referral, the first is now being revisited.

The second referral has taken several weeks to be accepted and to have a social worker allocated - it's now six weeks since the fight. I've just spoken to the social worker for the first time. She read me some of the referral. There are inaccuracies in how my report was taken down by nursing staff, and there are untruths in what my daughter has said.

Is there a way I can request the text of the safeguarding referrals? And if I do so, how should I then go about providing my version of what I believe to be inaccurate? Or is this all a massive waste of time, and it doesn't really matter that the information is wrong?

I would be very grateful of advice here. Thank you.

Dear grievingmum

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Board.

I am sorry to read of your difficult situation.

Here is our advice sheet about how to access information held about your family by children’s services.

You mentioned that a nurse took information from you, accessing this information (if it is not included in what children’s services provide) may have to be requested from the the hospital where the information was taken, the Information Commissioner may be able to advise in this area.


Best wishes

Suzie