I’m a Child Protection social worker AMA

[Lupinslupinelady]

I won’t be breaching any confidentiality...

It would stay on file at social services. For any referral, checks are usually/ should be made with the safeguarding leads for health and school but only they would then know this - the child’s teacher, for example, would not necessarily know about a no further action referral.

user1573334, the Social Work degree trains you for work with both children and adults but you then have to do the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment in your first year on the job to complete your training which will be relevant to your specific first role so children or adults. There are loads of different areas you can work in other than CP - although I feel that CP is a crucial background for any social worker. Other teams cover court/ permanency work, long term children in care, children with disabilities, adoption and adoption support, family finding, fostering - support for foster carers, children with disabilities, youth offending, leaving care. There are also teams which do intensive short-term work with families and you can also work for Cafcass. I think switching to adults would depend on your employer and your own reputation/ achievements/ training but it frequently happens: social workers in CP do lots of work with parents who have mental health/ addiction problems and/ or learning difficulties so the skills are very transferable. However, there are far more cuts and fewer jobs in Adult services.

I find that my work is 50-50 between admin and direct work with clients/ meetings. And there is often a lot of driving and have to do admin/ report writing at home in the evenings.

What would happen if someone's house was in a bad state? We moved into a council maisonette 2 months ago, we've not been able to afford carpet for the babies room (still in with us) or the stairs. Council houses are gutted and I feel so terrible we can't afford to carpet the stairs or babies room for another 2-3 months. I'm usually quite house-proud but it's so hard when you can't afford to carpet an entire council property immediately.

Oh and to add no SS involvement. I realise my home looks to be in a pretty neglectful state at the moment, but once I've finished carpet it won't look so bad. I just feel awful and trapped, I just can't afford to finish carpeting for 2-3 months.

Dear Bipity, that really is not something to worry about. Most parents - myself included - can’t afford stuff for our houses and any professionals who see inside your home should know how Council properties are in a bad state. As long as your baby is warm and safe and cared for, no one should be judging you. Does your baby have a health visitor or are you near a Children’s Centre? Because they may be able to help you with some schemes for affordable carpeting or stuff for the home and your baby. It depends where you live but a wonderful national furnishings company once donated carpets for a family I was working with. But messy houses are not a child protection issue - we would only see if that way if it was part of a more complex issue which made then child unsafe.

Do people actually lose their kids “over nothing”? Aka a corrupt system?

Is bed sharing really grounds for getting your child taken away? Even in a special needs situation?

@Lupinslupinelady thanks for taking the time to respond, very much appreciated

Been trying to work out where I could get advice from so your post could be really helpful.
I’ve just separated from my husband, very amicable and he has a great relationship with the children and I want to do all I can to support that relationship. The problem is he’s not great at being a dad, he loves them no question but it’s more a big brother relationship if that makes sense, rubbish at discipline, being the adult in the relationship. More worryingly he has occasionally made some stupid decisions putting the children in danger, it’s not malicious just thoughtless, eg leaving a toddler in a car while he runs into the shops on a hot day. It scares me that he’ll be the only adult with them at times, obviously there’s been times when he’s been alone with the children in the past, but I’ve kept them to a minimum but now it’ll be two nights/days a week, and I know things will happen. How can I safeguard the kids (under 6 so not able to do so themselves completely) but maintain their relationship. It’s taken me 3 years to leave him as I couldn’t work this out I still haven’t but can’t go on as things are. Any advice please?

Aunaturalmama, re. bed-sharing - no unless it was connected to sexual abuse or another form of significant harm.

Re. the ‘corrupt system’ - I don’t believe so but I am, admittedly, part of the system. But it is the Court which must approve any application by social services to remove children so the ‘corrupt system’ would then imply that the law is corrupt. I would say that to remove children requires a high level of work/ resources/ money/ emotional strain and therefore is not likely to be done ‘over nothing’ by cash-strapped local authorities. The threshold for securing a Care Order is extremely high and social workers frequently struggle with having to leave children in a home where there are a lot of problems but the threshold is not met. You could put your query to the president of the Family division of the Court, Sir Andrew McFarlane

Stuckinarut79, that’s a tricky one. I take it that you’re not going to Court over this as you could then put your concerns to the judge/ Cafcass in working out safe contact?

Is there someone like his mother or a family member/ friend who could support the contact to keep the children safe? And to help him learn to improve?! In addition to needing to safeguard the children, you don’t want to find yourself blamed for leaving them with him if something awful did happen. And while small children may not notice/ care about small details, it can be very worrying for them to be with an irresponsible carer and the last thing either of you probably want is to upset their emotional security. Plus it will probably be hard for you to relax when they are with him. Can I ask how old he is and/ or are there any specific reasons for his behaviour as he could maybe get help with these? How many children are there?

Thank you Lupin I appreciate you taking the time. He’s in his 40s I suspect he’s autistic but no diagnosis and he isn’t interested in getting one. No court involvement at present as all amicable, to be honest I’m scared to rock the boat too much as his parents are wealthy and would not hesitate to get lawyers involved and I suspect be very aggressive about custody. I have a history of mental illness though I’ve been well for the last 12 years but they are aware how ill I was in the past.
There are two children, his parents are around but I also have concerns about FiL as can he be very aggressive and both are in their 70s , some mobility issues, and travel a lot.

What does early help entail? Dd1 has anxiety and has been school refusing and having problems sleeping. I feel like I have been painted as a poor parent and if things don't improve early help will be instigated. Obviously I want the best outcome for dd1 but also am a very private person.
What does early help entail pleae?

My 2 DC both have disabilities ( unfortunately so do I now ) and I love their social worker.
She's from the children with disabilities team.
Kids both adore her.
We've had 2 previously and they've both been lovely too.
Honestly the help and support we've had as a family has been absolutely amazing.
My youngest is 10 and he always wants to give her a lot of cuddles and makes her give him leg massages using sign !
The strain she is under with her caseload is horrible, so underfunded and understaffed.
She really fights my sons corner with issues at school ( sen provision) and is just a genuinely kind and nice person.