Contents · 2014-10-10 · Written by: Sarah Rothera, Care Proceedings Case Manager Contributors:...

Written by: Sarah Rothera, Care Proceedings Case Manager Contributors: Eva Holland, Camden Legal Services, and Laura Eden, S&QA Islington Dated: 5th September 2014 Final V1.6 of 30

&

Care Proceedings Project

Working Together to Safeguard Children:

Submission of Evidence to Court

Contents

PART I – Statutory Guidance on Working Together .......................................................................... 2

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 2

Public Law Outline 2014 .................................................................................................................... 3

Working Together ............................................................................................................................. 7

Human Rights .................................................................................................................................. 11

Information Sharing ........................................................................................................................ 11

PART II: Guidance on Writing a Supporting Letter or Report .......................................................... 12

The Child’s World............................................................................................................................. 12

Audience ......................................................................................................................................... 13

Content ........................................................................................................................................... 14

Limitations of expertise ................................................................................................................... 18

Expert Witnesses ............................................................................................................................. 19

Diagnosis & Day-to-Day Functioning ................................................................................................ 19

Cognitive Functioning, Learning Difficulties & Disabilities................................................................. 20

Subjectivity ...................................................................................................................................... 20

Style Notes ...................................................................................................................................... 21

Being called as a witness ................................................................................................................. 22

Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................................ 24

Whos who? ..................................................................................................................................... 26

Helpful Links .................................................................................................................................... 28

http://www.camden.gov.uk/


PART I – Statutory Guidance on Working Together

Introduction

Safeguarding children is a shared responsibility of all professionals working with children and

families where children are at ‘risk of significant harm’ (subject to Child Protection Plans, Public Law

Outline (PLO) Pre-Proceedings Plans, and Care Proceedings). This document has been prepared to

support professionals to come together in their respective roles and work together to safeguard

children. A robust network of professionals can mitigate the risk of significant harm, however, the

converse is true when communication fails. Serious case reviews have too often identified failures in

communication and cooperation have resulted in poor outcomes and sometimes fatal consequences

for children.

While most professionals are clear on their role and responsibilities under legislation and statutory

guidance, the practical requirements of providing evidence to the court is not always as clear. In the

interests of working towards shared goals, clarifying uncertainties, and establishing a standard of

best practice, this guidance has been produced to support social workers and professionals to

produce their evidence and ensure that the valuable contributions from all professionals are put

before the court to assist with decision making.

This guidance assumes that practitioners and professionals are familiar with their duties and

responsibilities under the following legislation and guidance:

Children Act 1989 and 2004, and the Children and Families Act 2014

Public Law Outline 2014

Children Act 1989 – Guidance on Court Orders & Pre-Proceedings 2014

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013

Information Sharing: Guidance for practitioners and managers (2008)

Safeguarding & Promoting the Welfare of Children: Camden & Islington NHS (2013)

Think child, think parent, think family: a guide to parental mental health and child welfare (2014) SCIE

The collective aim of these documents is to minimise risk and promote the welfare of children and to

recognise the shared responsibility for safeguarding children at risk of significant harm. The


Research in Practice Court Orders and Pre-proceedings website1 has been developed to support

professionals to understand and implement changes in practice required to meet the statutory

requirements under the Guidance Court Orders and Pre-Proceedings 2014. The resources are

designed to build skills and knowledge for: children’s social workers; IROs; local authority legal teams

and key local authority partner agencies. It will be useful for those who are newer to their roles, but

also for others as a refresher on the new requirements.

The Children & Families Act (2014) underpins the new requirements, and sets down a child focussed

26 week statutory timescale for concluding care proceedings. This timescale places an emphasis on

working together in the pre-proceedings stage to avoid delay in safeguarding and decision making

for children. Where robust work has taken place in the pre-proceedings stage there is potential for

the family to be diverted away from care proceedings. Where care proceedings do take place, it is

desirable for the court to focus on decision making rather than assessment, and for the local

authority to arrive at the first hearing with a clear and specific timetable for the child.

Public Law Outline 2014

The Public Law Outline (PLO) 2014 is one of the key mechanisms for achieving the statutory 26 week

timescale for concluding care proceedings. The PLO 2014 is concerned with resolving systemic

issues that cause delay in Care Proceedings by streamlining the processes. The PLO 2014 and related

guidance emphasises the shared responsibility of the judiciary, CAFCASS, the Local Authority,

service providers and professionals, and legal representatives to avoid unnecessary delay in care

proceedings and make decisions within children’s timescales.

During the Child Protection stage the Local Authority will coordinate a plan to support the family to

make changes to safeguard the child with the assistance of partner agencies. The Local Authority

will co-ordinate the Core Group and request information under Child Protection procedures. The

information requested during this stage should be prepared to a court worthy standard to ensure

robust communication standards where children are assessed as at risk of significant harm, and with

the understanding that these documents may be filed with the court if care proceedings are issued.

Where the family has made insufficient progress to safeguard the child(ren) during the Child

Protection phase, the Local Authority can enact the Public Law Outline 2014. The PLO 2014 has four

stages:

1 Research in Practice Court Orders and Pre-proceedings website http://coppguidance.rip.org.uk/

http://coppguidance.rip.org.uk/


PLO Pre-Proceedings Stage: the PLO Pre-Proceedings Stage commences at the point of

sending a letter notifying parents of the Local Authority’s intent to issue care proceedings.

At the point of issuing this letter the parents become eligible for non-means tested legal aid,

and the local authority takes legal advice. The available evidence will inform the local

authorities decision about whether to issue care proceedings and put the matter before the

court. The steps taken will be depend on whether the risk of significant harm is cumulative

or immediate:

Where S31 Children Act 1989 threshold has been reached but there is not immediate

risk of significant harm: Where the child is at risk of cumulative harm the local

authority will decide whether to make use of the PLO pre-proceedings or to issue

care proceedings where the child remain in their parents care while further

intensive support and intervention is undertaken in an effort to divert families away

from care proceedings. During the PLO Pre-Proceedings Stage the Local Authority

takes legal advice and the parents become eligible for free legal representation.

There is no legal representative or Children’s Guardian for the child during this

stage, therefore, the child is reliant on the social worker and Core Group to

represent their interests. The Core Group will contribute to the assessment of the

family through submission of evidence that follows the guidelines within this

document. Following the time limited period the case will either de-escalate to

Child Protection Plan only or escalate to Care Proceedings.

Where S31 Children Act 1989 threshold has been reached and the child is at

immediate risk of significant harm: where the risk to the child is assessed as

immediate or unmanageable under the above process, the local authority will issue

care proceedings and take the matter to court within timescales relative to the level

of risk, which can mean the same day. The local authority can make an application

for an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) to safeguard the child for up to 8 days. An

EPO can be heard on the same day with or without the parents present (in absentia).

The police are also able to use their powers of police protection to take the child to

a place of safety for up to 72 hours when there is a risk to the child’s immediate

physical safety. The local authority can make an application for an Interim Care

Order (ICO), which will allow the local authority to share parental responsibility for

the child, including making decisions about where the child should live.

The local authority will prepare the matter for care proceedings in accordance with the PLO

Pre-Proceedings Checklist by preparing the application and annex documents (including the


social work statement, recent assessment reports relating to the child and/or the family and

friends of the child to which the Statement refers, such as professional reports and expert

assessments, along with an index of other evidential and decision making documents that

the court or parties may wish to consider, the judicial allocation proposal and case

summary).

Issue and Allocation: on Day 1 (of 26 weeks) the local authority will file the application

and annex documents. By Day 2 the court will consider the application and allocate the

relevant judge, issue standard directions relating to case management, direct disclosure of

documents, and schedule the Case Management Hearing. An interim hearing will be listing

if the matter is urgent and the child requires immediate protection from harm. The child is

allocated a Children’s Guardian2 who will visit the child to ascertain their wishes and feelings

before the Case Management Hearing (CMH).

Case Management Hearing (CMH): the purpose of the CMH is to agree a court

timetable that schedules all of the steps that will be taken during the proceedings, such as

the filing dates of further assessment and/or intervention for the parents, dates for updates

from professionals, the filing dates of any assessments of family and friends as alternative

carers, and future hearing dates up to the Issues Resolution Hearing (IRH). The court

timetable will take the significant events in the child’s timetable into consideration, for

example starting school, birthdays, or their need for permanency. The court timetable is

very time sensitive and anyone that files documents late can affect the overall timetable and

cause delay.

The CMH will occur between 12 and 18 working days from the date of the application. The

legal practitioners for the Local Authority, parents, and the child will meet prior to the CMH

to consider the evidence and agree a draft Case Management Order (CMO) that will include

the court and the child’s timetable.

Where further assessment or intervention is considered necessary, the CMO will outline the

proposed assessment or intervention, the questions for the letter of instruction, the filing

date, and cost, in accordance with Part 25 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010. The test for

whether an assessment is necessary will be determined by scrutinising the evidence

available to the court. This is where the evidence of professional witnesses is very

important. The parties will consider whether the family have been supported to make

change, and whether they have made full use of this support. If there are ‘gaps’ in the

2 The Children’s Guardian represents the child’s interests in care proceedings.


evidence, the parties may recommend that further assessment takes place so that a just

decision can be made. The parties and the court attempt to avoid repetitive and sequential

assessments, which can be intrusive to families and cause delay.

To ensure that all of the parties arrive at the CMH with a clear position about how the

proceedings progress and to avoid delay in care proceedings, it is important that all of the

evidence is available at the time that the application is issued and they have had time to

consider it. At the CMH the Judge or the Magistrates will consider the CMO and agree,

challenge, or amend the content where appropriate. The CMO will be finalised on this day

and sealed by the Judge. The directions3 in the CMO must be complied with and any

variations must be agreed by the Judge. Failure to comply with directions is contempt of the

court and costs can be sought from any person or agency that fails to comply.

The social worker will continue their assessment throughout proceedings and will consult

with professionals for an update as required. Where professionals continue to work with

the parents or child during care proceedings, an updated report or letter will be requested

or directed to inform the court about attendance and progress. The update will usually be

required at around week 12-14 of proceedings when other assessments are being filed, but

sometimes earlier. The parties continue to review the evidence and the parents’ progress

throughout the care proceedings and make adjustments to the support, assessments and/or

intervention, and the timetable, as required.

Issues Resolution Hearing (IRH) and Final Hearing: the purpose of the Issues

Resolution Hearing (IRH) is to consider all of the available evidence following any further

assessment, to narrow the issues in dispute, if any, and to determine if the court has the

evidence to be able to make a just decision about permanency for the child. Where there

are issues in dispute, the court will schedule a Final Hearing for oral evidence to be heard.

The IRH should occur no later than week 22 (of 26 weeks). Prior to the IRH all professionals

and parties will file the evidence directed in the CMO (usually by week 14). The Local

Authority will consider all of the evidence and file their final evidence and care plan (that has

been endorsed by the Independent Review Officer (IRO) or Child Protection Officer (CPO),

and Agency Decision Maker if applicable) (by week 16). The parents will consider all of the

evidence and the position of the Local Authority and will file their statement in response to

the Local Authority’s evidence and care plan (within 2 from the Local Authority). The

Children’s Guardian will consider all of the evidence, the Local Authority’s final evidence and

3 Directions are orders made by the court.


care plan, and the parents’ response, and will file a Final Analysis, which will include a

recommendation for the child’s permanency (within 2 weeks from the parents).

The legal practitioners for the Local Authority, parents, and the child will meet prior to the

IRH to consider all of the evidence and agree a draft Case Management Order (CMO) that

will include any outstanding issues, if any, and propose a court timetable to final hearing.

At the IRH the Judge will consider the draft CMO and agree, challenge, or amend the content

where appropriate. The CMO will be finalised on this day and sealed by the Judge. The

court will agree a Case Management Order (CMO) that will set down any further directions

and schedule a Final Hearing to determine the final outcome within 26 weeks. In

exceptional circumstances, and where it is in the child’s best interests, the Judge may grant

and extension of 8 weeks to ensure that care proceedings are resolved justly. There is no

limit to how many extensions can be granted, provided the decision is in the child’s best

interests.

Working Together

In order to make decisions within the child’s timescale it is important for the local authority and the

professionals to work closely together. The family must have been given clear expectations and the

opportunity for change at the Child in Need, Child Protection, and PLO Pre-Proceedings Stage. The

parents must be clear on the concerns of the local authority and other professionals. The

professional network plays an important role in supporting the family to make changes and

supporting the local authority’s application to safeguard the child. The social work evidence is

informed by professional and expert evidence and forms the foundation of the application to care

proceedings.

Where the child is assessed as being at risk of significant harm the social worker must evaluate

whether there is an immediate risk to the child’s physical safety or whether the risk is cumulative.

The social worker will consider the impact of the harm on the child’s immediate safety, wellbeing,

and developmental trajectory if the parents are not able to make changes. The available evidence

will be considered in reflective supervision with their line manager(s) and will take legal advice about

threshold. The outcome of these discussions will determine the local authority’s interim position.

Where the family has been robustly assessed and supported to make changes within the pre-

proceedings stage, the local authority may be in the position to make a recommendation about

permanency for the child.


Social Work Evidence

The social worker is ultimately responsible for gathering and reviewing all of the evidence to support

their application to the court. The Social worker will review and analyse all of the evidence and

reflect with their managers to formulate a view about parenting capacity in the short and the long

term. The social worker will write a statement that incorporates the views of the professional

network, their parenting capacity assessment, and their care plan.

The social work evidence template, populated examples, and further guidance is available on the

Research in Practice Website4. The social work evidence template covers the following key areas:

The family’s details, including a genogram;

A chronology of significant events;

Analysis of Harm

Summary of assessments already undertaken;

A Child Impact Analysis, including their wishes and feelings;

A Parenting Capacity Analysis;

Assessment of wider family and friends, and

The Section 31A Care Plan relating to Placement and Contact, including any

recommendations for further assessment and evidence;

The chronology contains the substantive evidence and should refer to hard evidence (specific

incidents) of physical, sexual, emotional or psychological injury, or neglect. Evidence comes from

the children’s disclosures, the child and/or parent’s behaviour, or incidents, usually observed by the

social worker, professionals or family members. Expert assessment can add to the evidence but also

relies on the aforementioned evidence. The social worker must set out the steps that have been

taken by the local authority to understand the underlying issues that have contributed to the risk of

significant harm (through assessment) and the steps that have been taken to provide support and

facilitate change. The social worker analyses the impact of harm on the child’s safety, well-being

and development to determine if they have suffered significant harm, whether they will continue to

suffer this harm, and whether the harm can be attributed to the care they have received. The

impact of maltreatment and abuse may be traumatic, following a specific incident(s), or cumulative

following a series of acts or omissions that have impacted on the child’s safety, well-being, and

development over time.

4 Research in Practice http://coppguidance.rip.org.uk/social-work-evidence-template/

http://coppguidance.rip.org.uk/social-work-evidence-template/

http://coppguidance.rip.org.uk/social-work-evidence-template/


The social worker will assess the parents’ capacity to understand and meet the child’s specific needs

and capacity to protect the child from future significant harm. The social worker statement must

contain evidence about whether the parent is able/unable to work with professionals to make

changes to safeguard the child. They will also comment on the child’s safety and developmental

trajectory if nothing changes. The social worker may rely on the opinion of other professional and

experts to arrive at a decision about the child’s needs and the parents’ capacity, however, this will

depend on the complexity of the issues and the professional experience of the social worker. The

social worker will need to balance the child specific needs with the parents’ capacity to meet these

needs, now and in the future.

The social worker will provide the court with an interim position and a final position on the child’s

placement. An interim position is provided at the beginning of proceedings, and the social worker

may recommend that the child either remains with their parent, that they are placed with a suitably

assessed family member or friend, or that they are placed in unfamiliar foster care.

The social worker may recommend that further assessment takes place before providing their final

position, however, if adequate pre-proceedings assessment has been undertaken, a final position

may be known from the beginning of proceedings.

The social worker will evaluate who, on balance, is best to care for the child, whether that is their

parents, a suitably assessed family member or friend, or whether they should be placed outside of

the family network in a long term foster care or adoption placement. Where a child is placed

outside of the family network it is usual for the child to continue to have contact with their birth

family unless is considered harmful for them to do so.

Evidence from professional witnesses

Professional witnesses typically include, but are not exclusive to, Health Visitors, GPs, School Nurses,

Teachers (and assistants), Substance Misuse workers, Domestic Violence Workers, Family Support

Workers, Police, Probation Officers, all local authority employees, and any other professional that

has contact with the parent or child. Paediatricians, Child & Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) and

Adult Mental Health (AMH) workers, may be professional witnesses or expert witnesses depending

on the context of their role. As stated above, the Local Authority must evidence what support and

intervention has been provided to the family to facilitate change. Upon the Local Authority making

an application to the court to safeguard the child the social work evidence is filed with supporting


documents. In the family court, health and education professionals will normally submit a letter

or report setting out their observations of the parent and/or child over a period of time. The social

worker will cross reference these documents in their statement. Such letters or reports are

important sources of evidence for the social worker and children’s guardian to analyse and are

often primary sources of evidence of significant harm, particularly in cases of neglect and

emotional harm. Please see Part II of this document for guidance on producing this evidence.

While it is important for the social worker and professional to have a direct conversation about

safeguarding concerns, it is imperative from an evidential perspective for professionals to commit

their observations and opinions to writing.

There are certain circumstances that should be reported in writing to the Safeguarding & Quality

Assurance Team (Child Protection Chair or IRO) for follow up and a response in writing. These

circumstances, including but are not exclusive to:

The professional does not think their concerns are being taken seriously enough,

The professional thinks that the response to concerns is disproportionate or ineffective,

A professional witness does not provide a verbal or written update to the social worker upon

request, or the update is not provided within timescales to safeguard,

The views of the professional or social worker differ significantly between settings, for

example, a professional reports their concerns to the social worker and then will not repeat

this in a Child Protection Case Conference or in writing, or a social worker acknowledges

their concern but the subsequent action does not appear to safeguard the child.


Human Rights

Information Sharing

The Data Protection Act 1998 is concerned with fairly and lawfully managing personal information

and guidance on how and when to share information is set out in Information Sharing: Guidance for

practitioners and managers (2008). Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) have shown how poor information

sharing has contributed to the deaths or serious injuries of children. Section 11 of the Children Act

2004 places duties on a range of organisations and individuals to ensure there is regard for the need

to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Most professionals know and understand their

obligations to share information with the Local Authority, however, there are some perceived

barriers to sharing information that we need to consider. There are some important factors to

remember when deciding whether to share information or not, these include:

The responsibility to safeguard a child overrides the preservation of a therapeutic

relationship;

Article 6: Right to a fair trial

Everyone has the right to a fair and public hearing within a

reasonable period of time. This applies both to criminal charges

brought against them, and in cases concerning their civil rights and

obligations. Hearings must be before an independent and impartial

court or tribunal established by law. It is possible to exclude the

public from the hearing (though not the judgment) if that is

necessary to protect things like national security or public order. A

person who is charged with a criminal offence is presumed innocent

until proven guilty according to law and must also be guaranteed

certain minimum rights in relation to the conduct of the criminal

investigation and trial.

Article 8: Right to respect for private and family life

Everyone has the right to respect for their private and family life, their

home and their correspondence. This right can be restricted only in

specified circumstances.

The evidence submitted to court must demonstrate

that the Local Authority has been mindful of Article

6 & 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 which are

concerned with the right to a fair trial and

respect for family life. The Local Authority can

only intervene in family life under special

circumstances, such as where there is evidence of

significant harm. The Local Authority must clearly

evidence specific incidents of significant harm and

the impact that his harm has had/will have on the

child to satisfy the court that threshold for

significant harm has been met and to justify

intervention in family life. The local authority must

also demonstrate that efforts have been made to

preserve the family unit through offering access to

appropriate support and intervention.


Professionals who are working with adults have a responsibility to report information that

may be harmful for children;

Information that is reported to the social worker will be used to inform the assessment of

the child;

It is best practice to follow up any verbal reports of information in writing so this can be

used as evidence to safeguard the child;

Assuming that the social worker has enough evidence to safeguard can place the child at

significant risk of harm, and in worst case scenarios, be fatal;

PART II: Guidance on Writing a Supporting Letter or

Report

The principles for writing a report for court are similar to many other contexts. The following section

will outline the purpose, audience, content and key areas to consider when writing your submission.

This document can be used for Child Protection, PLO pre-proceedings cases and those being issued

into care proceedings. Documents provided for Child Protection Case Conferences are often used in

evidence to safeguard children, therefore, should always be prepared to a court-worthy standard.

The Child’s World

Although the child protection system does its best to be child focussed, there continue to be many

distractions away from the child. Ideally, the best route to securing the child’s safety and stability is

to work with the parents to address their difficulties, however, sometimes parent(s) problems

overwhelm and distract from the emotional anxieties and needs of the child. Sometime there are

legal and bureaucratic complexities or high caseloads that divert our attention. There is a clear and

important role for professionals working with children, and that is to bring the child into the court

room. Tell your audience about the day to day life of the child and/or parent and the how this might

impact on the child’s safety or wellbeing.

The Local Authority will, in the first instance, work with the family to make changes, however,

where this is not possible within the child’s timescales, a decision about permanency must be made.

The Local Authority is responsible for resourcing families to make changes and making all possible

attempts to preserve the family unit, however, the needs of the child are paramount and sometimes

swift decisions needs to be made to safeguard a child.

The parents we work with wear many hats and many labels, sometimes at the same time – ‘victim’,

‘perpetrator’, ‘substance misuser’ – it can be easy to forget other important labels - ‘mother’,

‘father’, and ‘protector’. For professionals working with parents, it is important to take a child

centred family focussed approach and ‘Think Family’.


Audience

When preparing your evidence it is helpful to consider your audience. The primary reason for

submitting your evidence is so the Judge can make a decision, however, the parties to proceedings

and other professionals also play important roles and will also be considering your evidence:

The Judge: the Judge’s primary role is to make a final and permanent decision about

where the child should live - either with their parents, with other relatives, or outside of

their family network. This weighty decision needs to be informed through evidence

submitted by the social worker, experts, and other people in the child’s life, including

relatives and professional witnesses. The Judge is concerned with achieving a fair and just

outcome to care proceedings and will ensure that the relevant legislation and statutory

guidance has been followed by all professionals.

Social Worker: the social worker make their own assessment that incorporates the

written evidence from experts and professional witnesses to evidence their assessment of

risk of significant harm, parenting capacity, and to inform decisions about safeguarding

the child and making decisions about permanency. The supporting documents are

summarised and cross referenced in the social work evidence and are relied upon in

written and oral submissions as hearsay evidence.

Children’s Guardian: the Children’s Guardian represents the child’s interests in care

proceedings. As part of their enquiries they will review all of the evidence and visits the

child. The Children’s Guardians will scrutinise the efforts of the local authority and

professional network to ensure that every effort has been made to safeguard the child

and preserve the family unit. The Children’s Guardian provides the court with an initial

and final analysis after review of the evidence.

Legal Practitioners: the Parents, the child, and the Local Authority will be legally

represented by a solicitor or barrister. Their role is to examine all the evidence put before

the court and represent the interests of their respective clients. Where there is

discrepancy, lack of clarity, or gaps in the evidence the individual submitting the evidence

may be called as a witness for cross examination.

Experts and Other Professionals: with the discretion of the court social work, expert, and

professionals reports may be disclosed to experts and other professionals so they can

undertake further assessment of parenting capacity, or intervention, when this is

considered necessary to inform the decision of the Judge.

The Parent(s): the parents are likely to read your submission so ensure that the language

you use is direct and to the point and enables the parent to understand your concerns and

reasons for reporting them. Parents will be assisted by their solicitor to understand the

content of the statement and supporting documents so reading age, English as a second


language, or other barriers to understanding should not limit your language too much.

Interpreters and advocates will be provided where necessary.

Content

Some organisations submit their evidence on templates, however, others prepare letters or reports.

There are no rules about this but there are best practice standards that should be considered,

whichever your preference:

Practicalities

Always date and sign your report,

State your full name and professional title,

Provide a description of the service you and/or your organisation provides,

It may be necessary to submit your curriculum vitae to confirm your qualifications,

particularly if you are providing expert evidence, if this is required it will be raised by the

local authority solicitor,

Include a summary of the reason you know the family/child, including when you first met,

the frequency that you saw them, the reason for this contact (i.e. a referral from social

services, or self-referral, scope and purpose of the contact),

Include the start and end date (if applicable) of your relationship with the family. Where the

relationship has ended state the reasons why,

There are no rules about length – this should be determined by how much involvement you

have had with the family and how much evidence you can assist the court with. If in doubt

about whether a letter or a report is required professionals should discuss the requirements

with the social worker who will consult the local authority solicitor. Be succinct and to the

point in whatever you present to avoid important information getting lost in extraneous

detail,

Submit your letter or report on the letterhead of the organisation that employs you,

Avoid providing your evidence in an email as this lacks the requisite formality of an

evidential document. It is best practice to attach a signed PDF document to an email, and/or

to post a signed printed copy of your submission,


Significant Incidents, Observations& Interactions

The court relies on social workers and professionals to provide the court with a robust, evidence

based assessment of the child’s circumstances at home in order to make a just decision. Set out any

significant incidents or observations that have occurred during the time you have known the family.

Significant incidents: Set out the date and description of any significant incidents. A

significant incident is any event or interaction that made you feel concerned for the child’s

safety or well-being either by commission or omission. Conversely, there may be positive

events or interactions that you wish to comment on. Wherever possible, comment on

whether any observed incident impacted on the child, such as their self-esteem, interaction

with peers and their surroundings, response from peers, or attention and concentration.

Patterns of Neglect: In cases of neglect significant incidents may be many small indicators

that add up over time. In these instances it is preferable to discuss themes that you have

observed over time, such as looking dishevelled and wearing torn and dirty clothes, poor

personal hygiene and smelling of urine, appearing to be hungry, scavenging food, eating

double portions of school dinners, craving adult attention rather than seeking out peers,

looking tired and listless in class, or arriving late to school regularly and/or having a poor

attendance record. Posture and verbal interactions (or lack of) can be a good indicator of

how a child is feeling. Some children may seek out adult attention in preference of peer

relationships, while some children may not know how to ask for help and be overly self-

reliant. While all children have unique personalities and dispositions, observations of

obvious attention seeking behaviour or overly compliant or introverted behaviour may be

indicative of difficulties with the parent child relationship. Do your best to quantify the

regularity of these themes and include dates and specific examples wherever possible, but

avoid overwhelming the reader with extraneous detail.

Patterns of Behaviour: comment on experience of the parent or child’s behaviour, for

example, unpredictability, unreliability, chaotic behaviour, violent tendencies, verbal abuse,

high criticism, low warmth, confrontational behaviour, or undermining professionals and

other potentially safe adults (ie police, medical staff, teachers, social workers) in front to the

child, or whether the converse is true. Is the parent able to acknowledge the potentially

harmful effects of their behaviour? Where does the child fit within the narrative about the

parents’ life and their difficulties? Does the child internalise or externalise their feelings?

Overly compliant behaviour in children is often overlooked and should be noted when there

are other risk factors present, and can indicate that a child is subjugating their own needs or

fear the consequences of misbehaviour. Comment on whether a child’s behaviour changes

when their parent is near, or whether a parent appears unduly hassled or overwhelmed by a

child’s demands. Comment on how behaviour impacts on your interactions with the parent

or child. Do your best to quantify the regularity of these themes and include dates and

specific examples wherever possible, but avoid overwhelming the reader with extraneous

detail. Wherever possible, comment on how this impacted on the child and others.


Parent or Child Observations & Interactions: Where parents’ present with particular

difficulties, such as mental health or substance misuse issues, it is important to comment on

how this impacts on their day to day functioning and interpersonal relationships.

Observations of interactions and presentation of the child and parent together and with

others is very important and powerful evidence. Children often express a lot during their

play and interactions with other children and adults. Adults are equally expressive in their

interactions with others. If you have had concerns, please describe your observations. If

you don’t feel confident in assessing the reasons behind the behaviour simply state what

you saw and how it made you feel or the impression that it gave. Avoid drawing conclusions

that you do not have evidence to support. Conversely, there may be positive observations

or interactions that you wish to comment on.

Attendance and Progress

Parents are encouraged to attend services to address their issues and their attendance and progress

can be crucial to reducing the risk of harm to children. The local authority can work with a degree of

risk while parents take steps to change their circumstances, however, it can be unclear at times

when a parent’s engagement with a service is genuine, superficial, or resistant unless there is a clear

view from the professional. If you are working with an adult in relation to child protection concerns

the social worker will need updates about attendance and progress. Equally, if a child requires a

service, it is important that their parent facilitates this. While the Local Authority does not want to

impede on a productive therapeutic relationship, information about attendance and progress is

important to ensure that the parent has taken the Child Protection concerns seriously and is

attempting to remedy the child’s situation. When submitting your letter or report, please comment

on:

Attendance: Tell the reader what appointments were offered and for what purpose.

Comment on whether the parent made full use of this (ie how many appointments were

offered and how many were attended, and the outcome of the appointment), if the parent

missed appointments comment on the reasons for this and any evidence provided to justify

their absence. Comment on the organisational policy for missed appointments (ie many

organisations will allow three missed appointments before discharging service);

Progress: where you have undertaken goal based work, state the goals and summarise the

parents progress towards achieving these goals. Where goals have not been formally set

you can comment on any observable change. Comment on the parent(s) ability to work

through their problems and accept your advice and professional opinion.

Barriers to Progress: comment on anything that may have been a barrier to attendance or

progress, such as language, cognitive functioning (diagnosed or suspected), mental health

difficulties (diagnosed or suspected), substance misuse (confirmed or suspected),

motivation, finances (ie travel), resistance, or any other factor.


Perseverance vs Conclusion: Many of the adults we work with suffer from a range of issues

that prevent them from fully accepting their own and their children’s circumstances, and the

impact this will have in the short or long term. While there are times when we need to

persevere, there are times where we need to conclude or review our intervention, such as

when attendance or progress is poor. Failing to report a lack of progress or poor

attendance can mask the risk of harm and give the impression to the professional network

that concerns are de-escalating, when in reality the risk to the child remains unchanged.

Dormant cases in therapeutic settings can give the impression that parents accept that there

is a problem and they are working on it, when no actual work is being undertaken and the

risk remains unchanged. While it is ultimately the professionals’ decision on whether to

persevere or conclude their service, the Local Authority need to be kept informed of

progress to ensure that the risk to the child is managed.

Outcome Monitoring: All services have clear outcome monitoring standards for work being

undertaken. It is helpful for these standards to be clearly stated and applied when writing

submissions for court, although preferably not reproduced in full.

Making Recommendations

This will not be relevant to all professionals. Where a professional is providing a treatment service,

it may be appropriate to make recommendations about future treatment with themselves or

another service. For example, for an adult attending a drug and alcohol service it may be necessary

to recommend that a hairstrand test be undertaken to provide a baseline sample of substance

misuse, or recommend a more intensive treatment service. Other examples are that it may be

appropriate for a teacher to make recommendations for an Educational Psychologist Assessment, or

for a Health Visitor to recommend a Paediatric Assessment, or an adult mental health worker to

recommend a cognitive assessment, or a therapist to recommend a period or type of treatment.

If recommendations are being made, please consider the following factors:

Scope: outline the scope of the work that is being recommended, including the goals of the

intervention.

Specificity: identify a specific service(s) and check availability. When a specific service is not

nominated, outline the criteria for referral to an appropriate service. Describe the service

that is being proposed and why it is being proposed.

Realistic: It is important to be realistic about what is achievable for the client, available in

the local area, and reasonable in cost.

Frequency: outline the frequency of attendance that is being recommended so there are

clear and measurable expectations.

Timescales: comment on when the service could start and the duration of the

recommended intervention.


Prognosis: comment on the prognosis for meaningful engagement and change. Based on

your experience of working with the parent or child, how likely is it that they will attend and

meaningfully engage? Outline the reasons that you think the intervention will/will not be

successful, and outline any barriers that you anticipate. Wherever possible the social worker

will take steps to overcome these barriers.

Confidentiality: Disclosure of Documents

Where documents have been provided for a Child Protection Case Conference, the Local Authority

must seek consent from the author to disclose this into evidence in care proceedings. Where the

case is being issued into proceedings the social worker will request consent for disclosure. Where

the consent is denied and the court considers the evidence to be important to decision making a

direction may be made by the court for the professional to file the evidence or be summoned to give

oral evidence. This can cause delay in care proceedings. Professionals can authorise disclosure of

documents into care proceedings within the document.

Limitations of expertise

Each professional has an important role in providing evidence to the court to obtain a whole picture

of the child’s life. Each professional holds an important piece of evidence that the social worker will

draw together in the initial and final statement to be able to provide an interim and final position on

the child’s safety and well-being. When preparing for court the

social worker will ask professionals within the network to comment

on work that has been undertaken in accordance with this guidance.

Where there are gaps in the evidence, the social worker will put

questions to the professional or ask for clarification.

Knowing what you know, is as important as knowing what you don’t

know. It is important not to step outside of your area of expertise

and make concrete statements where an expression of uncertainty

will suffice. For example, where you have observed a parent

behaving erratically it is preferable to describe their behaviour (ie unsteady on their feet, fidgeting,

and fluctuated between loud direct but disjointed comments and muttering to themselves) rather

than speculate as to why this might have been where there is a lack of evidence for causation. If

the court requires further expertise in a particular area, this will be identified and progressed during

proceedings.

The scope and limitations of expertise has been subject to much debate and this guidance will be

updated, in consultation with professionals, to include a view on what each professional can

helpfully contribute to safeguarding and decision making for the child. There is recognition that

there are some limitations to the questions that should be asked of professionals, for example:


A treating psychiatrist should provide a report that clearly states a detailed psychiatric

history including any admissions to hospital, diagnosis, medication, compliance with

medication, engagement with treatment, impact of the diagnosis on their day to day

functioning based on past behaviours, impact on interpersonal relationships, prognosis,

treatability, future treatment, and timescales of this treatment.

A treating psychiatrist should not be asked the type of questions put to an independent

psychiatrist, such as, questions that draw conclusions about long term parenting capacity, or

about the child, especially where they haven’t seen the child.

Expert Witnesses

The rules for Expert Witnesses are different to those of professional witnesses. Part 25 of the Family

Procedure Rules (FPR) 2010 provides specific guidance on the instruction and use of Experts in Care

Proceedings. The overriding objective of an Expert Witness is to help the court on matters within

their expertise, the scope of which will be set out in a Letter of Instruction. There are some

instances where professional evidence is used as Expert evidence, such as a paediatric report in

cases of non-accidental injury. To ensure that care proceedings are resolved fairly and swiftly the

court has the power to restrict Expert Evidence to that considered ‘necessary’, and to seek further

information through specific questions to the professional or Expert. In accordance with Part 25 FPR

2010 the parties must file an application for an Expert that clearly sets out the scope of the work

(Letter of Instruction), the specific practitioner that will undertake the work, the start date and

report date, and the cost. The application should set out the impact of any delay that may be

incurred by instructing the Expert.

Diagnosis & Day-to-Day Functioning

Where a professional is working with a parent or child it is helpful for any confirmed diagnosis to be

defined within the report, with explanation and evidence of how this will impact on their day to day

functioning. Where a diagnosis has not been confirmed, it is recommended that the social worker or

professional comment on observations of day to day functioning.

When commenting on day to day functioning, you may wish to consider, but not be limited by, the

following themes:

Independence: how independent is the parent/young person/child? Is the level of

independence age appropriate? What factors impact on their independence? How much

support do they require? What do they require support with, and how often? What

happens if there is no support available? Who normally provides this support? What is their

capacity to develop their independence? Does the level of independence influence the

parents or child’s vulnerability?

Routine: is there a consistent routine in place in the home? Who is in charge of the routine?

Does the routine support the child’s basic and educational needs? Where there is a lack of

routine, does this impact on the child? Are there any factors that disrupt routine?


Relationships: Does the parents specific difficulties impact on their relationships with others

(children, family, professionals, partner, and/or friends)? Is there a risk of conflict? Do the

parents role model healthy relationships to their children? How are people outside of the

family viewed? What is the capacity for warmth or criticism towards others? Do they have

healthy narratives about others?

Participation: Does the parent or child participate in the local community or other activities?

Does/has the parent participated in education, training, or employment? Is the child

encouraged to participate in the community or other activities important to their social and

behavioural development? What are the barriers to participation?

Beliefs and values: has the parent expressed any beliefs or values that have concerned you

or pose a safeguarding risk? Do the parent’s beliefs and values appear to be balanced,

distorted, realistic, overly prejudiced, low/highly critical, low/high warmth, open/closed,

social/anti-social, positive/negative regard, punitive/lenient, empathetic/un-empathetic,

extreme views, harmful traditional practices, superficial, or overly concrete?

Cognitive Functioning, Learning Difficulties & Disabilities

Where there are indications that a parent or child is suffering from cognitive difficulties, this should

be raised with the social worker so that steps are taken to ensure the appropriate services and

supports are in place. Cognitive functioning difficulties are often recognisable through difficulties

with perception, thinking, remembering, comprehension and reasoning. An individual’s cognitive

functioning can impact on the way the world is viewed and capacity to learn new things and make

progress.

Where a parent has cognitive difficulties, learning difficulties or disabilities, it is important to ensure

they have been appropriately supported to understand and overcome the child protection concerns.

There are specific ways of working with adults with learning difficulties to make it easier for them to

understand and make sense of the concerns, and to take steps to make changes. Failure to identify

and provide this support in the pre-proceedings stage is an infringement upon the parents’ rights

and can invalidate evidence presented to the court. Parents with learning difficulties or disabilities

should have the benefit of working with a professional trained in the Parenting Assessment Model

(PAMs).

Subjectivity

Care proceedings brings together a range of people from a variety of disciplines to achieve a

common goal, however, it is not uncommon for issues to arise from poor communication arising

from different training backgrounds. Some common themes are outlined below:

‘Stable’: The word ‘stable’ is demonstrably one of the most subjective terms used in the

child protection sector. The use of the word varies as much within disciplines as it does

across disciplines. ‘Stable’ is a subjective term derived from personal interpretation and


based on personal opinions, values, or feelings. A few of the examples seen in practice

include, ‘stable’ from an adult psychiatric perspective means that the patient is not in an

acute state of psychosis, but may also mean they were not behaving erratically, or have

been compliant with medication for (variable) periods of time, or weren’t showing outward

signs of distress or anxiety during their consultation. From a housing perspective, ‘stable’

means there is not an immediate risk of eviction, or no evidence of transience or multiple

addresses. From a substance misuse perspective, ‘stable’ may mean that they have

achieved abstinence for a (variable) period of time, or have achieved a level of coherence or

a reduced level of use. ‘Stability’ from a child protection perspective considers the broader

context of stability in relationships, routine, living arrangements and day to day life.

‘Stability’ is relative and determined by context and discipline so should be qualified with

description of the facts and evidence. Where ‘stability’ is being considered, the ‘Think

Family’ model should be applied, and the description should qualify the use of the word

‘stable’.

Generalisations: Use of the words such as ‘engagement’, ‘appropriate’, ‘compliant’,

‘resistant’ tend to be sweeping statements that are presented as a general truth but based

on limited or incomplete evidence. These words infer universality of understanding of what

these terms might mean. Use of any of these words should be qualified with evidence and

examples to provide context. It is not acceptable to just say that a parent ‘engaged’ as your

own interpretation of engagement may differ from the expectations of the social worker or

the court.

Jargon: All disciplines use jargon, however be mindful of how jargon is understood (or

misunderstood) by others. Submissions to court are reviewed by a range of different

disciplines and clear communication is crucial for achieving a swift and just outcome. Be

conscious that jargon can be perceived as obscure, meaningless or pretentious by others.

Jargon can mask or escalate concern.

Acronyms: it is acceptable to use acronyms if you follow the usual conventions of defining

the first example. Don’t assume that local service acronyms will be understood by a judge,

parties or professionals who work across Boroughs. For example, FAS in Camden is the

Family Alcohol Service, an alcohol treatment service, whereas in Islington it is the Family

Assessment Service, a multi-disciplinary parenting assessment team;

Style Notes

Be succinct: set out your evidence to the judge in clear language, limit yourself to what is

important. It is tempting to provide an abundance of information, however, there is a risk

that important detail will get lost in extraneous information. Court bundles are notoriously

bulky and the parties will appreciate a succinct report that is to the point. While it is

important to be succinct, it is more important to be sure that the court has the evidence it

needs to make a decision, and this balance will require your judgement.


Be direct and to the point: say what you mean. While it can be difficult to report some

information, the safety and outcomes of the child may depend on it. When preparing your

written submission it can be helpful to read your report (or the sections that you are finding

difficult) out loud to a colleague to hear how it sounds and to get constructive feedback.

This can help to ensure it sounds fair and balanced while communicating the important

information. Many practitioners are worried about disrupting their working relationship

with the parent if they are too direct, however, it is important to be transparent. It is

possible to maintain a relationship with a parent while being direct and expressing your

concerns, and in many cases can motivate change.

Language: Avoid language that might escalate or de-escalate concerns, if in doubt have a

manager or colleague read your submission and give you their impression.

Be balanced: highlight concerns explicitly in clear language but ensure that you highlight the

positives as well. Ensure that you comment on times where you have been able to work well

together for the interests of the child. If you have not been able to work constructively

together, state this and the reasons why. ‘Balance’ should not translate to ‘vague’.

Balanced means that people are capable of simultaneously showing parenting strengths

while experiencing difficulties, or experiencing periods of strength and periods of difficulties.

Presentation: while there are no strict rules about presentation it is helpful to use Times

New Roman, Ariel, or other easily legible font, that is 11 or 12 pt, and 1.5-2.0 spacing.

Always word processed, never handwritten. Always a document, never in email form.

Quality Assurance: A robust quality assurance process is an important stage in submitting

your evidence. Many agencies require that a line manager reads the submission before

distribution.

Being called as a witness

The court is willing to use hearsay evidence – that is statements not made in oral evidence in the

proceedings – but when submitting evidence to court there is a chance you will be called as a

witness. The court will avoid calling witnesses unless it is absolutely necessary and only when there

are disputed facts, or areas that require cross examination by the parties. Expert witnesses (ie

psychiatrists, psychologist, and members of multi-disciplinary teams) are far more likely to be called

than professional witnesses (ie teachers, nurses, GPs, domestic violence or substance misuse

workers). If you are called as a witness, the following provides a brief overview of what to expect,

and some suggestions on how to prepare:

You will be advised by one of the legal representatives if, and when, you will be required at

court;

Review the written evidence you have provided to the court so it is fresh in your mind. A

copy will also be provided for you in the witness box;


The court may disclose other pieces of evidence for you to review before you provide

evidence. You should be given sufficient time to read any other evidence before

commenting;

While there is no strict dress code at court, it is advisable to dress neatly as it is a formal

setting where significant decisions about children’s lives are made. Many people wear suits

to court, especially when giving evidence;

The parent(s), local authority, children’s guardian, and each of their legal representatives will

be present in the court room. The Judge and their clerk will also be present, and sometimes

an usher. Sometime instead of a Judge there are three Magistrates and a legal advisor.

The legal advisor or usher will ask you to swear or affirm that the evidence you will give with

be truthful;

Once you have been sworn in you will be asked to confirm your name, professional title and

address, and to confirm your documents.

The usual process is for the solicitor who called you as a witness to ask for your evidence and

to ask questions to clarify any points. The other parties legal representatives will cross

examine your evidence by asking questions. These questions may seek to clarify points you

have made, seek further detail, or challenge your evidence.

Remember that you are there to assist the Judge with making a very important decision.

If you are asked a question that you don’t know the answer to or is beyond your expertise,

simply say this, the court will be pleased that you know the boundaries of your knowledge

and expertise.

If you do not understand the question that is being put to you, ask that it be re-phrased or

repeated.

If a legal representative makes a statement that indicates a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer (closed

question) you may answer in more detail, especially if you only partially agree or disagree

with the statement.

If the barrister is making you feel uncomfortable, reduce the effectiveness of their

communication by averting eye contact – 70% of communication is nonverbal, and this

makes a challenging line of questioning more manageable. Remember to remain composed

and direct your responses to the judge rather than be distracted by the barristers’ facial

expressions, gestures, and postures.


Glossary of Terms

Abuse The law says there are four types of child abuse: physical abuse, emotional abuse,

sexual abuse and neglect. If a child is being abused in any of these ways, the local authority will

take action and will think about taking the child into care. Adoption A child becomes

adopted when a court makes an adoption order. The order can be made even if the child’s

parents do not agree. The adoption order removes parental responsibility from the child’s

parents and passes it to the adopters. They become the child’s parents and are responsible for

all aspects of the child’s care and for making all the key decisions about them. The birth parents

are no longer the child’s parents and cannot have him or her back. Assessment A court

can order assessments to take place as part of making its decision about how a child should be

looked after. These assessments involve professionals such as doctors, psychologists or

counsellors meeting a child or the child’s parents and finding out information to report back to

the court. Care normally refers to what happens when a court decides that the child should

not live with their parents. The child goes into care and lives in either a foster home or a

children’s home. It can be for a short while or for some years. Court order A court order

is something a judge or magistrates can make. It can be about all sorts of subjects from where a

child should live to who is allowed to have contact with a child in care. Examples include: a care

order or a supervision order. If someone does not follow a court order, they can be taken back

to court. Family Group Conference A Family Group Conference is a meeting that

brings together friends and extended family in a situation where there is a problem in a family,


usually involving a child. An independent person called a coordinator brings the family and

friends together. Harm If a child has suffered significant harm (illtreatment), or is thought to

be at risk of significant harm, the local authority will get involved in the child’s life to try to

protect them. This can be the start of care proceedings. Letter before

proceedings A letter before proceedings is a formal letter. It invites parents to come to a

meeting with your local authority because they are worried about their child. Long-term

fostering This is when a looked-after child stays with a foster carer until they reach

adulthood. Neglect is when a child does not get the care they need. That includes food,

warmth, safety, education and general attention. Parental responsibility Parental

responsibility is the legal right to make decisions about a child’s life. A child’s mother gets

parental responsibility when their child is born. If the child’s father is married to the mother

they will have parental responsibility or if they are named on the child’s birth certificate and the

child was born after 1st December 2003 they will have parental responsibility too (see page 7

for more information). Sometimes a local authority will ask a court to give them parental

responsibility for a child who they may or may not then take into care.

Parties are persons who are directly involved or interested in the case, usually the local

authority, the parents, and the children’s guardian. Pre-proceedings meeting A

pre-proceedings meeting is a key part of the process the local authority uses to decide whether

or not to go to court about a child. The aim is to agree how parents will change the way they


look after their child. Residence order This is a legal document from a court which says

who a child should live with. That person will have parental responsibility for the child. It will

usually last until the child is 16. Special guardianship A family member, family friend

or the child’s foster carer can ask the court to become the child’s Special Guardian. A Special

Guardian has parental responsibility for the child. They become responsible for everything to do

with the child’s care and for taking decisions to do with their upbringing. However, they cannot

consent to the child’s adoption, give them a new name or remove them from the UK for longer

than 3 months. A Special Guardianship Order lasts until the child turns 18.

Whos who?

Child’s guardian A children’s guardian is an independent person appointed by the

court to work out what the best thing would be for your child. They do not work for your local

authority. Their job involves meeting your child, meeting you and other members of your family.

They may also meet your child’s teacher, social worker and doctor. They then write a report for

the court saying what they think would be best for your child. Children’s services The

part of your local authority that deals with all the local authority’s services for children. It used

to be known as “social services.” Judge A judge is the person who makes decisions in a

county or crown court. Magistrate Magistrates make decisions in magistrates’ and family

proceedings courts. Normally there are three magistrates who work as a “bench”. This means

they make decisions together. Solicitor/barrister A solicitor or barrister is someone


qualified in the law who helps people put their side of the story in court and in other situations

where they need help. Solicitors and barristers are sometimes called lawyers.


Helpful Links

Research in Practice – Court Orders & Pre-Proceedings Guidance

This website supports professionals to understand and implement changes in practice required to meet the statutory requirements under the Court Orders and Pre-Proceedings Guidance 2014.

The resources are designed to build skills and knowledge for: children’s social workers; IROs; local authority legal teams and key local authority partners. It will be useful for those who are newer to their roles, but also for others as a refresher on the new requirements.


Working Together to Safeguard Children https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children

Information Sharing: Guidance for practitioners and managers (2008)

Seven Golden Rules for Information Sharing

Information Sharing Flowchart http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/dcsf-00807-2008

Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004, Children & Family Act 2014 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/all?title=Children

Public Law Outline (2014) http://islingtonchildcare.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_pub_law_outline.html


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https:/www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/dcsf-00807-2008

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https:/www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/dcsf-00807-2008

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/all?title=Children

http://islingtonchildcare.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_pub_law_outline.html


Partner Agencies – Appendices

This Best Practice Guidance- Submitting Evidence to Court – Working Together will be reviewed in

January 2015. The policy team are aiming to develop appendices in consultation with partner

agencies that will set out how each professional witness can helpfully contribute to safeguarding

children and working in partnership with families.

Please consult within your agencies and complete the form set out below and return it to

[email protected] by 31st January 2015. Please be as detailed as your busy schedules

permit. While we need a response for each agency, some professionals may wish to submit their

own individual responses. The contributions will be collated and developed in collaboration with

the Camden and Islington Safeguarding Children’s Boards to be included in the revised Best

Practice Guidance.

Agency/ Professionals name:

Safeguarding Lead Name & Designation:

Safeguarding Lead Phone:

Safeguarding Lead Email:

Description of Service Provided by the Agency/Professional/Expert (including any eligibility criteria, duration of service)

Describe the expertise within the agency (refer to professional groups where there are multiple employees with the same type of expertise). This may be described in terms of qualifications, experience, and/or expertise.

Describe how the agency, teams or individuals can helpfully contribute to safeguarding children during the pre-proceedings stage, and during care proceedings. (Consider the work that is undertaken with parents and children and in light of the guidance provided within this document. Please comment on, statutory roles and responsibilities, the agency mission statement and ways of working, how the family can be supported, interaction with the social work team, how you adopt the Think Family model within your practice, and any other continuous improvement, theoretical, or evidence based strategies your team or agency has adopted.

mailto:[email protected]


You may wish to include questions for a letter of instruction).

Comment on what is working well and ways that we can all improve.

Are there any limitations or particular requirements when submitting information or evidence to the local authority or court?

What further training or support, if any, does the agency/professional have planned or need?

Please comment on the best practice guidance – what is helpful and how it could be improved?

Many thanks for your time and contribution!

Contents · 2014-10-10 · Written by: Sarah Rothera, Care Proceedings Case Manager Contributors:...

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