Police Welfare check normal?

[DottyDitsyMum]

Hi,
Apologies and warning this is long!
I wonder if anyone can help with experience/ knowledge about police welfare checks on children.
Last night, at just after 8pm, we had police turn up at our door and demand to see the children. I was in the bath at the time and my husband answered the door. He wasn't allowed to explain to the children what was happening and the pair of them (one male, one female) just went straight up to the kids bedrooms to check on them.
Once they had spoken to each child, they came down to speak to us (I got out of bath - husband had actually been asked if I was definitely in there!).
We were told it was just a routine welfare check, requested by social services, because someone had reported concerns.
They checked our kitchen for food and interrogated us a bit about why we home educate (we have done for past 16 years, are known to LA and never had any issues at all, with older children having grown up, left home and working now). They had read our files from a few years ago, when SS were involved for a whole different story, that was resolved. I was told that it was likely SS will follow up on visit, but that they were "happy enough for now".
Kids were understandably upset and confused.
When I asked if it had been a serious concern raised, due to the urgency of the visit, they said no - "this was normal procedure."
Initially we thought this was our neighbour, who is a major busy-body, and reports anyone for everything possible. She complained to council about some bits of wood and rubbish in front garden, that was waiting to go to the dump, but had to wait a couple of days because husband had injured back. Our poor next door neighbour has constant issues with her reporting things.
However, we'd just had a sainsbury delivery only 40 minutes before police arrived. The driver had been nosing around at the door - our hall and stairs look a state at the moment, due to being mid renovation. We can't remember exactly if he was doing it at the time, but often my 15 year old is very loud when gaming online and shouts things like "No!" "Get away from me!" "Don't kill me!" And just screaming!
My husband anxiety is through the roof, and kids are really upset by it all, due to previous issues with SS. Both would be eased by having a better understanding of what happened, and whether this is neighbours latest vendetta!
Is it really likely that this was routine request from SS? Or do you think that delivery driver called police with concerns?
On one hand, I understand totally the need to check on kids. But the negative attitude towards us home edding and the way they spoke to my husband (who's autistic and was just really struggling to comprehend what was happening at the time) was disturbing. Whole household feeling very confused, violated and vulnerable today 😔

2015 hearing - Pembrokeshire
2018 - Swansea Crown Court
Case Review in 2020 of Northamptonshire Case

Apologies for these being press articles and not anything more concrete. It’s not that it’s a very frequent issue, it’s that it can indicate isolation in specific circumstances where usually home education isn’t actually occurring and parents are purposefully isolating them. In some ways COVID relates and in other ways it doesn’t, in that the children who died at school age were supposed to be in school but weren’t and were isolated (but for reasons that could be explained by the time rather than by home education). Remember many of the cases will not be publicised in press or widely known. They won’t be in Crown courts, but heard by magistrates. The most serious ones that go to Crown Courts tend to be the ones we, as the general public, hear about.

Please know I fully support actual home education, but my point is some abusive parents lie and use it as an excuse (hence the questions from authorities). It isn’t a concern on its own at all, it’s parents claiming to do it alongside other concerns. It happens in a small number of cases but has happened enough that it’s become something that social workers and police need to get more information around because of those few children who are seriously at risk. The majority of home educators are great parents, the difference is that those children aren’t generally heavily isolated (dependent on reason for HE, but that is also often relatively straightforward to explain). For children in schools, there are some who are not followed up quickly enough, but often in those cases the school have noticed issues and have been reporting it (not always, but often).

Anyway, I’ll be quiet now as I don’t want to derail the thread. Apologies, OP.

@ChaosAndCrumbs
What is needed is proper funding of social services, rather than pointing the finger at home educators in general.

Cuts to social services show just how little the government cares about child welfare.

I know a lot of home ed children and parents over the years and all the kids without exception were/are engaged, happy, positive family dynamics, able to explore areas of specialist interest, have a good range of interests, some have gone into gone onto uni earlier, some have needed to recover from school based trauma and school based safeguarding issues.

I haven’t argued differently to that. I totally agree and have never (and would never) voted Tory. Read my post, I’m not blaming HE, I’m explaining it’s still relevant to ask questions and the parents who have abused children tend to be not home educating at all (it’s just something they use).

Im an adoptee and SS has needed extra funding for a very, very long time but is horrifically underfunded now.