Child Protection Conference

[SimplyMe13]

has anyone been through this recently and can advise what kind of questions are asked please?

has all come about because of a misunderstanding and want to be as prepared as possible!!

My daughter was almost subject to one of these.. I was given a choice of her and my abusive and violent ex.. And as far as I'm concerned there was no choice.
This is useful
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/children-and-young-people/child-abuse/local-authority-involvement/child-protection-conferences/child-abuse-what-is-a-child-protection-conference/

thanks, have looked through all the websites and cant find anything on questions they will ask! and because of this virus everything is being done differently and not meeting up with people face to face so not getting half the information or support i should be getting and feeling very backed into a corner right now!

I don’t know if this is helpful...

If you’d like to prepare a report yourself, you can do that. If you need help, contact your social worker. Even if you don’t want to write things down, you could still think about what you would like to say at the meeting, and perhaps bring some short notes. It might be useful to think about the following things:

the strengths of your family situation
what support and help you need
what you think needs to happen after the conference
what you think you, or others, could do to improve the current situation

@FairyontopofthetreeBatman

I don’t know if this is helpful...

If you’d like to prepare a report yourself, you can do that. If you need help, contact your social worker. Even if you don’t want to write things down, you could still think about what you would like to say at the meeting, and perhaps bring some short notes. It might be useful to think about the following things:

the strengths of your family situation
what support and help you need
what you think needs to happen after the conference
what you think you, or others, could do to improve the current situation

yeah read that on one of the websites, have written down some bullet point notes on things that i want to bring up but its the unknown thats worrying me, the questions that they will ask, i dont like being put on the spot as it is as it makes me incredibly nervous so dont want them thinking that its because im hiding something that im stumbling over my words or not answering straight away.

I’ve attended a few of these in a professional role. I’m not sure I recall a lot of questions being asked specifically. Or if so they are very open questions to allow people to raise whatever points they think are relevant. More what happens is that there is a chair who will ask different people who might have relevant information about any concerns (GP, school, social worker etc) to say what they are concerned about and why.

Usually they do that bit first and then ask parents to respond to the concerns raised and what you plan to do to mitigate them in future or what support you might need to address any concerns.

A genuine misunderstanding can hopefully be cleared up easily although they may want to keep tabs on the situation for a while if it’s reached the level of a child protection conference just to make sure. If there are real issues which have been identified I would advise you not to minimise or deny them. Most concerns can usually be resolved by working with parents to improve things eg if the kids are being utterly neglected because mum can’t get out of bed with depression for weeks on end and there’s nobody else to help, the reaction isn’t usually well take the kids away now as people worry about! And more - let’s get mum the help she needs to get better so she can resume her usual role, and what support are we going to put in place in the meantime to make sure the kids have their basic needs met.

It will be an open sort of chance for you to speak generally rather than a series of specific questions I would say. Worth writing a short preprepared statement to make sure you can say everything you think is important for them to know and be aware of in terms of the family situation, as suggested above. I’ve definitely seen parents basically read out their statement before, although also they sometimes just speak off the cuff. If you’re nervous best to prepare something you can refer to if needed. And they understand that this situation is hugely stressful for parents so don’t worry about stumbling over your words etc. They will usually take what you say at face value unless there is clear evidence that what you are saying is utterly untrue (like the children have been examined and there are whip marks and cigarette burns on their bodies but you are claiming that this is not possible if you see what I mean). If you are being straight with them you really have nothing to worry about.

There won’t so much be questions as they will discuss what they think is the best way to proceed with protecting your child. You will sometimes be invited to speak but for the most part you listen and agree to do what they require.

You should receive a copy of the social worker’s report to conference in advance of the conference itself. That will set out exactly what the concerns are and what the social worker is suggesting should happen next. I wouldn’t be doing much in the way of “prep” - just answer any questions that come up honestly and be prepared to accept there may be some genuine concerns

If it's going to child protection conference surely an initial assessment will have already been done which recommends the CP conference. Ask for the report which lead to the conference being initiated. Their main area/s or worry will be there. Mainly the conference will focus on the main area/s,

I’ve taken part in these as a teacher. Just be real. Yes prepare notes as advised above, but mainly you need to come across as someone who loves your child and puts them first.
Don’t be argumentative. As hard as it is, bite your tongue and be honest. Any lies will be thrown back at you further down the line.
Child protection can be about small things that have been misinterpreted. For example neglect - maybe a misunderstanding, child doesn’t like to wear a jumper no matter what the weather etc... or more serious neglect where help can be put in place. Or physical, emotional or sexual abuse... so hard to hear but do listen and hopefully any misunderstandings can be sorted easily.
Sometimes kids say things in school and they get misconstrued. When parents fly off the handle in a meeting (which is sometimes understandable) it never helps their cause. So stay calm.
Usually the professionals just need to talk things through and will often offer support.
I’m happy to offer more specific advice if you can tell us more.
Good luck OP

thanks everyone, you have really helped! basically its a misunderstanding, son had a mark on side of his head which i am certain was from one of the numerous toys he took up to bed with him ( cars, dinosaurs a toy clock!) and they have decided that it was a non accidental injury somehow and im now being made out to look like a terrible human, its just getting to me abit.

the social worker only sent me her report this morning, and the meeting is tomorrow at 10am. looking online it was meant to be 48hrs previous and i should have had a chance to meet up with other professionals that will be there but because its being done over the phone ( i still havent been told if its skype or normal phone call either!!) i havent had any of this so i seem to be going in blind!

Unfortunately it is not unusual for reports to arrive very close to the conference. How old is your son and did he have a child protection medical?

If you know which toys he took to bed then would be useful to photograph them so you have a record

he is 4, yes we had the medical and it came back inconclusive ( no surprise ) and as soon as we got home the bedding was changed and all toys taken out and photographed, have shown the social worker and kept the picture for future reference too!

Lots of authorities are following the 'signs of safety' model for CP conferences currently which basically just means:

• what is working well
• what are we worried about
• complicating factors
• what do we need to do next

It's your right to ask for the conference to be stood down and rearranged given that you have not had the report 48 hours ahead, but you can still choose to go ahead.

Are there any other worries in the single assessment other than the inconclusive injury?

@hadesinahalfahell

Lots of authorities are following the 'signs of safety' model for CP conferences currently which basically just means:

• what is working well
• what are we worried about
• complicating factors
• what do we need to do next

It's your right to ask for the conference to be stood down and rearranged given that you have not had the report 48 hours ahead, but you can still choose to go ahead.

Are there any other worries in the single assessment other than the inconclusive injury?

no other worries except for his behaviour, a health visitor appointment has been set up for that though so hoping to get some answers from that as im convinced he is somewhere on the spectrum with his bio dad having aspergers it seems the most likely answer for the behaviour issues

It's very very unusual for an isolated incidents to go straight to a CP conference before any investigations etc. What contact have you had with children's services so far? Are there any other concerns in your household, do any of you have criminal convictions, especially for violence, previous police call outs for domestic abuse, substance misuse, previous concerns raised by school etc? You do have the right to ask for a delay given the short notice. What did her report say?

Just realised this has probably taken place now. How did it go?

I hope everything went well OP

Very interested to see what happened. It's very unusual for this to go to conference when it's such an isolated incident?

There must be more to it?