Shock call from Child Safeguarding team. Any social workers here?

[Theartfulcrafter]

I'm a single mum to a dc aged 6 who has always been close to my mum and stepdad. We spend a lot of time at their home and they dote on dc.
Stepdad has occasional bouts of depression which causes stress behind the scenes. Never in front of dc or I.
He's in no way abusive and I have nothing but love for him.
Today I got a call out of the blue from the local child safeguarding and early help team saying that they've received information from a professional that my stepdad attempted suicide recently (I had absolutely no idea of this) and that he keeps an axe and baseball bat in their house.
I vaguely know about an axe as well as other tools in the garage and a bat for self defence but that's all. My ex has previously threatened to kill me and snatch my son, so I believe the worry of this could be what prompted stepdad to get a baseball bat.
I was in shock at this caller saying he's not allowed to be alone with my dc, implying that he's a danger.
I phoned my mum and she said she's currently in counselling for how to cope with her husband's depression and she also admitted he'd recently taken an overdose (the suicide attempt I knew nothing about when safeguarding person told me).
This stuff was disclosed by my mum to her husband's GP, her own Gp and a counsellor. One or all of them must have been where the safeguarding team got the information from.
Where do I go from here? Can I challenge this?

I appreciate it’s a shock OP but there’s no need to challenge it even if that possible.
Someone is simply looking out for the children. You know they are not at any risk so just engage with the social workers and take on board any of their recommendations. It may be that the person who referred them in thought your mum and step dad had sole care of the children on occasion.
I know it’s probably easy for someone not in the situation to say but it’s only the best interests of the children they are concerned about. And you clearly weren’t aware of the full story for whatever reason

It sounds like actually your mum is concerned that your stepdad isn’t necessarily going to behave safely. Otherwise why would she have disclosed the axe and the baseball bat to professionals? I think there may be a lot you don’t fully know about here and I’d listen to social services.

Agreed. They are not calling to blame your stepdad but to ensure that you have all the information that you need to keep the kids safe.
Whenever there has been a critical incident (someone such as a child harmed) in the past, a failure to share information has been named as the most important factor in the failure to protect.
So now parents / primary caregivers are informed about anything that might impact on the safety of a child. Just be there for your mum and dad and don’t worry about the social services call.

They are just passing on information so you can ensure the safety of your child. There is nothing to challenge.

I don't know why you're considering challenging them on this

Does your child spend time with your mum and Stepdad without you there?

If they do, you now know that it's currently not safe to do that unless you are certain your mum will be with your child all of the time.

If there are concerns of a safeguarding nature then professionals have to report them. I am not sure of the issue here because they've called to inform you so you are aware of the risks and given you advice to keep your children safe. What is there to challenge? Just take on board the advice you've been given.

Definitely not worth challenging. There have been so many horrendous incidences involving young children being harmed/killed by family members that there are being more vigilant than ever at social services. I’d be glad to be aware in your situation.

I know it must be a shock, but they're just doing their job. You don't need to challenge it.

What a sad situation, and how shocking for your to find out about your Step Dad's suicide attempt like this.

Your dc is obviously on the radar because of your ex.

I do think it would be wise to keep them away from your Mum and Step Dad's house right now if you possibly can just because it can't be good for a child to spend time with a suicidal person.

Most people with depression are more likely to hurt themselves than others.

@Favouritefruits yes and the safeguarding teams will be well aware of that. There’s no way that this is triggered by someone with depression having sports and gardening equipment in the house. The OP doesn’t have the full facts

If your mum didn't tell you about the suicide attempt, what else is she not telling you?

Why would you disregard well intended advice which may contribute to keeping your child safe?

Also, in what circumstances would he typically see your child unsupervised?

I'm not sure why this is such an inconvenience which it is most likely to your benefit.

I would tend to agree with @CavernousScream however appreciate we don't have the full details.

I would be inclined to speak to your Mum in private and explain the phonecall. I think there may be a little more to the story, for example; has your stepdad perhaps exhibited any unpredictable behaviours/outbursts in moments of despair? Has your Mum confided in either GP/Counselor re worries about him not being in control of his emotions at certain times? Is there any history of violence/threats towards others, even one? It sounds like your Mum has specifically mentioned the bat and the axe to professionals, you need to unpick - for what reason? It's an assumption but I'm pretty sure she isn't concerned about him beating/axing himself?

For SG to have advised no unsupervised contact, there is more than just simple possession of these items. There are many hazardous instruments within a household e.g. knives, scissors, electricals, chemicals etc and at most the SW would advise that such items (including axe's) are stored appropriately and out of reach of children.

How very upsetting for you - but this doesn't mean this will always be the case, they are just trying to be on the safe side and hopefully he can get some support and they will be able to be together again. I think the best thing to do is to cooperate and let the CS team do their job. I'm sorry you're all having to go through this, and I very much include your stepdad in that too.

I work in safeguarding. As others have said, everyone is just doing their jobs (G.P, safeguarding etc) I would just listen to what they suggest, it won't be forever and I think if you challenge it may result in more intervention as it could be seen as you not seeking to protect D.S. I wouldn't stop seeing them at all I would just make sure that contact is supervised so that SD isn't in sole charge of DS.

I wouldn’t try and challenge it.

They don’t necessarily think your stepdad is a danger to your DC in terms of wanting to harm your child. It’s more likely they are concerned your stepdad could harm himself whilst with your child, which obviously would be very distressing for your son to witness. Your stepdad is actively suicidal, he is clearly not at all well and his state of mind is not stable and so it is right that he shouldn’t be alone with a child, just as you wouldn’t leave a person with a serious physical illness alone with a child.

When he is well again then it is likely the risk assessment will change but for now it reflects the fact your stepdad’s mental health issues are currently very serious and that he is not capable of safely caring for a minor by himself. It sounds like he is still able to see your son as long as somebody else is with him and he’s not left alone with him so you should be able to maintain the relationship until he is well again.

Thanks for all the replies and thoughts, much appreciated.
Just wondering how long this restriction is likely to be in place? Would it be until my child grows up?
I did ask this question to the man from Safeguarding who called me yesterday but couldn't get any answers from him.
He sounded robotic and appeared to be reading from a script. Whenever I asked a question (perfectly understandable that I'd have questions, surely?!) he kept going quiet then repeating same couple of phrases.. It wasn't a very interactive thing. He sounded so disengaged, like I'd was disturbing him or just that he had no interested in his job. Sigh.
I rang back later in the afternoon asking to speak with someone else (ideally his manager or a senior person) but nobody has called back yet.

Just wondering how long this restriction is likely to be in place?

Its guidance and advice, not restriction. As for how long - until your stepdad is in a safe frame of mind.

Social care are asking/advising you to prioritise your childs safety. If you don't do this, either because you don't understand the dangers, downplay them or disregard them - then social care could consider your child "at risk of harm". So you could find yourself subject to a Child In Need Plan to help you prioritise your childs safety.

Those would be restrictions. Right now, your just expected to parent (it's part of being a parent to put your childs safety above anything else), which they'll likely assume you'll just do without any outside agency help.