Child protection plan - Devastated

[SENSummer]

Posting for traffic as SEN board is quiet.

We have a high needs AUADHD non verbal DS. Specialist school, learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. Lovely but hard work and disregulates in school holidays. His home carer recently quit due to his violence and not feeling safe which they put in writing and I shared with SS.

I gave up work (both professionals) and became DS carer (also has a younger sibling) and have absolutely advocated for him every step of the way.
We kept asking for additional support and being denied at panel. DS is almost 6 but huge, 9-10 clothes. We reached breaking point this Christmas. We felt we couldn’t keep him or ourselves safe in the home and were really at the end of our tether. I rang social services and recounted how uncomfortable we were with the events of Christmas, said we wanted to consider section 20 or residential school if they wouldn’t help us further. They had a meeting this week and put both kids on child protection plans. Said DS is staying with us as we are what’s best for him.

Im just completely devastated. Barely stopped crying for 24 hours.

There were quite a few inaccuracies told in the meeting that compiled made us look really negative. There’s also things like DS having a safety gate over his room which everyone (including SS and OT) has known about all along and never raised issue with but now it’s a massive issue.
I can evidence most of these things but I’m terrified to even try. They have all clearly decided we are now the problem. Apparently the police who were in the meeting (never had police involvement in our lives) heard all of this and were very unhappy.

No one has ever had an issue with our parenting if anything I’ve always been commended for my perseverance with DS. I honestly wish I’d never said anything, we just really needed help.

You almost certainly misunderstood.

Your children can only go on a child protection plan as an outcome of a child protection conference, to which they have to invite you.

Also, I don't think the SW would tell you the outcome before the conference ( even if she already knew what the likely outcome would be)

You must clarify in writing eg - just want clarity, understand that concerns weren't substantiated as not proceeding to an ICPC, can you confirm whether the children will be supported on a CIN plan (s17) or whether a CPP is being proposed. As we understand it a CPP would require an ICPC which isn't going forwards and need to be sure about the correct process going forwards.

As @Cruiser123 says it sounds more like a miscommunication esp as she said nothing further will happen which clearly isn't CP. You do need to get clarification in writing around what plan she's referring to.

OP, if there's no initial child protection conference, then the only 'plans' that could be recommended from a s47 enquiry could be a voluntary type of support plan such as child in need (often known as CIN or ChIN) or support from non social work services, such as early help (part of social care but a lower risk level)
These would require your agreement, though importantly there is no bearing on parenting ability or risk. For example, any child who has a significant disability should legally be considered 'child in need' and offered support, many children with care packages have these managed under a child in need plan.

If you're finding it tricky relying on advice online, you can Google 'working together', it's statutory guidance that includes a section on what happens at strategy meetings, s47 etc.

To everyone who commented I just want to give you an update.

SS dropped everything. No protection plans and several pointed comments from SW about how badly misrepresented the facts had been at the strategy meeting. To say I am relieved is a massive understatement.

That's wonderful OP! 🍾💐

With. I havent read through the whole thread or all your posts but surely a CIN plan should have been proposed. To support you all. Are they offering respite or further PA hours etc? Am in a similar situation but I pushed/fought advocated until if nearly broken me and we are on a CIN plsn. Though not much actually happening currently.

Just going to resd through your posts now OP.

Yay this is good but what support are they going to offer and put in place. If yoh have the energy please consider following the formal complaint process.

Ok read in full you have a current CIN plan. You should be having meetings every 6 weeks where they scale the children, so do you. And they are evidencing what supports are making a difference and what they need to put into place.

If panel is saying no to further support what are they suggesting instead?

I'm pleased for you OP, and I'm glad that the social worker acknowledged that it wasn't just that threshold wasn't met, but that the info they'd had to go off wasn't accurate/fair.
I do hope you have some useful support made available to you though.

I'm please for you. However, I think you need to do a SAR. I would do one for the school, social services and any other services you use. You want see anything pertaining to your children. You need to know what has been recorded.

We are on a CIN, have been for ages. My choice. That’s not changed we remain on it x

Pleased to hear what has changed OP

my kids were put on a cpp due to undiagnosed ASD and other conditions that so called professionals totally missed and called me an emotionally abusive parent because I was advocating for my kids. My SW changed and the new one told me she’d been encouraged to add lies to my and others files which she refused to do. With her help I got my kids off the cpp and eventually the help they needed but that was many years later. The whole experience nearly cost me my job and damaged the relationship with my eldest forever

Complaints are risky as they often lead to child protection. If your kids have disabilities and you're female, complain, advocate, have any disability esp mental health then you're at risk.

Ive just watched s documentary tonight (may have a repeat with 'updates' ) about 4 families in Ireland struggling with the behaviour of a child with SEND , effect on the whole family and the role of SS and the total lack of support they received as a family , even though they were begging for some help, had been assessed as needing support (detailed in reports) and still getting nothing!!

Im glad your situation is working out and hope you do manage to get the help you are requesting x x

The CP plan is to support the family/hold them to account to make the appropriate changes while external agencies put the appropriate support in place and give oversight as to best interests of the child.
Would you prefer kids were just whipped away under initial safeguarding concerns without families being given the chance to address them and sustain positive change?
(Im a social worker )

Parents do not ever attend strategy meetings
its a multi agency safeguarding, information sharing exercise.
the outcome is shared after with parents/carers
in this case it would have been a Section 47 child protection enquiry I guess if the case has now been progressed to ICPC

I feel your pain.
Where do the kids go though ?

There are not enough foster carers or residential homes ( not that anyone below 14/15 should be in one of those in my professional view )

Im a social worker (adolescents team) and I like many of my colleagues are part time respite foster carers on the side - because we have the wherewithall around vulnerable kids and benefit from the extra income stream

None off my cohort , myself included will take in the following -

Teens who are being exploited - exploiters could turn up at the door risking us and our families
Teens who are regular missing/absconders- means police calling/coming around at all hours disrupting work/family/life/balance -too much impact on own family/getting to work next day
Any child of any age who is violent /aggressive whether that be through SEN or lived experience
Any school refusers or anyone who is not in at least part time education
And absolutely no child who has toileting issues
Any child where having them stay would likely impact on you being able to get to work the next day

We take removed babies at birth until long term care is found
Teens in crisis with none of the above issues (if they go missing we revoke care )
little ones while alternative family arrangements are put in place due to illness/parental mental health /substance use/ homelessness/breavement etc

This is exactly why I could not exercise my legal right to s.20 accommodation when my AD1 made a false allegation against me that saw me detained in custody for 21 hours. I didn’t want to have her living at home because I was terrified of future allegations and knew my mental health would not survive another night in a police cell. It was apparently fine for me, as a single adopter, to live with the non-stop violence, the aggression, the sibling abuse, the stealing of anything not nailed down, the going missing episodes, the police at my door, my neighbours hating us and vitriol in our community. To be honest, the system is back to front. Help for adopters should be assumed and should be front-loaded. We have taken in society’s most vulnerable children, the ones who have been legally severed from their birth parents. My AD1 came to me as a ‘healthy’ baby (I want to mention here how LAs are, I’ll be kind, ‘economical with the truth’ with adopters). Today, she is registered blind due to her in utero experiences, has NAS, probably FASD, is autistic with a PDA profile (this is the absolute fucking kicker as it’s impossible to live with), ADHD and she has a rare autoimmune disease that requires weekly chemotherapy, only she won’t take it, see PDA. This is too much for one carer to bear. I have battled my LA and the crappy RAA for years fir appropriate help, the problem with this is that it puts a target on your back. Far easier for the CP SWs, who seem collectively clueless about trauma and attachment and neurodivergences, to pin everything on poor parenting.

In dropping everything, have they also dropped all mention of your request for a section 20 or residential school? I might be being cynical here, but it does seem like it could all have basically been a way to try and shut you up so you wouldn’t ask for this support and they didn’t have to address the violence you and your other D are living under.

I am really so sorry that you are being so badly let down, OP. It’s shocking how under resourced child services are and the appalling things they do to parents like yourself who are working so hard in impossible conditions.

For those outlining the process here for how things should work regarding CIN and CPP etc
not all SS departments work in the same way, have enough skilled and experienced staff, follow procedures correctly
Decent new social workers don’t always get the best support and training once they start work and are overwhelmed
Being on either category of plan is not a guarantee of receiving appropriate support and resources throughout the duration of the plan

So what are they giving you as extra support? Any respite? Additional carer?

I'm so glad for you. What a relief!