Social Services (information about)

INFORMATION ABOUT SOCIAL SERVICES

This information is about social services, based on services in England, please do check whether this is applicable to your area of the UK. In England, the social services department who deals with referrals involving children are known as children’s services.

Firstly, we should point out that, whilst some home educating families do get referred to children’s services, it is only a small minority.  Out of those the majority of ‘cases’ are closed after initial information gathering and are not progressed to an assessment.

We must remember that whilst we hear horror stories of children’s services abusing their powers and removing children in what seem to be unwarranted circumstances, they do protect lots of children, and they do help many families.  The general advice we give is to work with the social worker, however, ensure that you know your rights and get legal advice if a case goes beyond an assessment.

Social workers have a legal duty to respond to referrals and safeguarding concerns. In a very few cases, schools have made referrals when they have felt unhappy when a family deregisters, and sometimes where the school have never mentioned or documented having had any previous safeguarding concerns.  This is unprofessional and goes against guidance available to local authorities that home education is not in itself a safeguarding concern. In situations such as this, once social workers have made some initial enquiries, they are usually able to see that these are malicious or unwarranted referrals, and the case would be closed.  

Some schools genuinely think that deregistering is a cause for concern, that the child will be socially isolated or at risk of abuse. These schools are not malicious, they are ignorant to how home education really works and to the guidance provided to them by the government and local authorities.  Again, in most cases, social workers will see this and will close the referral.  Some GPs make referrals, so do health visitors, other professional and even neighbours, again it’s usually through ignorance rather than maliciousness.

WHEN A REFERRAL IS MADE: INITIAL ENQUIRIES/ INFORMATION GATHERING.

When children’s services receive a referral about a home educated child, as with a referral for any child, it will be an intake team, or a MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) that will review the referral and start making enquiries. They will usually follow the referral up by telephoning the family, or, in some local authorities sometimes by visiting the home address. At this point, the social worker will be information gathering and will be wanting to understand the situation as fully as possible so that they can ascertain whether there are in fact safeguarding concerns that will warrant further involvement. The social worker may also want to gather information from any other professionals/ agencies involved with the family such as schools or nurseries, this will be to help build a picture of the family and if there any concerns or not. If children’s services are satisfied that there are no safeguarding concerns, they will usually close the referral.

If the referral had included concerns about home conditions or neglect, the social worker may request to do a home visit and also see your child(ren) to be reassured that there are no safeguarding concerns. You are within your rights to decline this, as children’s services involvement at this point would be under section 17 of the Children Act, which means it is only done with parental consent. However, if there are serious safeguarding concerns, or there have been previous referrals or concerns, or if the family have been open to children’s services before, they may request to do a visit so they can be fully reassured that there are no safeguarding concerns currently. If a family declines a visit in these situations, and social workers are still concerned about possibility of safeguarding concerns or there is a history of involvement, they will let you know of their concerns and whether they feel they need to escalate the case further.

It is useful to know that social workers are not generally given training in home education and may not know much about it which may be reflected in their approaches or decisions. Educational Freedom has a helpful printout for professionals that you can find and print off here to give to your social worker. When children’s services make their initial enquiries, it is helpful to be open and honest and to share your reason for home educating and related information, this will help them to understand and be reassured that your child being home educated is not a safeguarding issue in itself. Remember that coming to home education for seemingly negative reasons should not be a concern, though explaining things in a positive light will help your social worker see that home education is not a concern.

In most cases, it is advisable to reiterate to the social worker that home educators do not have to register or be known to the local authority, that the local authority does not have a duty to monitor, and that it is the parent’s responsibility to ensure the child is educated. Again, here is a link to the printout that you can hand to them which explains the relevant legislation.

Once children’s services have completed their initial enquiries/ information gathering, you will hear from them, usually a phone call or letter, to advise that the case is closed.  Unfortunately, sometimes children’s services may forget to update parents or there might be a delay, which can leave a family worrying.  If you haven’t heard anything after a month you could contact them asking them to confirm that the case is closed in writing.

Note: at the time of writing, it is known that there is at least one local authority whose process is that ALL children who are deregistered from school are referred to their children’s services department. It is not thought that these are taken forward as referrals, but that the local authority makes checks upon the family and may follow up on any families where they may be relevant history or previous concerns. This is, however, unusual and should you have any queries or concerns, please contact us for advice and support.

FURTHER ACTION

If after making their initial enquiries/ information gathering, children’s services still have concerns, they may want to complete a child and family assessment (sometimes known by other names such as a family assessment) or want you to have support from another service such as early help. They should make their concerns and reasons for wanting further involvement clear to you, if they do not, you can request this in writing. At this point, both the assessment, and early help would still be under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, so would be ‘voluntary’ and only completed with your consent. If you feel that what is being requested/offered would not be of benefit for your family, you can put this in writing to the social worker/ team you are in contact with. Be careful to explain how their involvement is of no benefit, and the alternatives you have in place. Your views and feelings are important and should be heard. However, if children’s services feel that by you declining further involvement will lead to safeguarding concerns, they will let you know this and whether they will need to escalate the case if you decline their involvement

It is worth considering that at this point if their ONLY concern is home education, that you can contact us for support and advice. However, we cannot offer support for situations involving children’s services outside of home education.

If a child and family assessment is undertaken, there can be a number of possible outcomes including: no further action, signposting to other services, stepping down to early help (or another service), longer-term children’s services involvement under a Child in Need Plan, or to start the process for Child Protection. You should be given a copy of the completed assessment and the opportunity to discuss it with the social worker as well as have any comments or views about it recorded on their system. If your case is to be opened long-term under CIN (Child in Need), or CP (Child Protection), you still have the right to home educate, however education will be considered in your child’s plan and if the social work team feels home education may constitute a safeguarding concern, they will address this within the plan and if needed, take further action. Your views, and those of your child(ren) and young person should always be regularly sought by the social worker and you should be invited to share them at meetings and conferences.

Your local authority may have a home education policy and procedure document which you can request, or possibly find online. This should outline their policies and procedures around home education, including where there is a Child in Need plan or a Child Protection plan in place.

If children’s services take further action, such as a Child in Need plan or Child Protection plan, we advise getting proper legal support.

Additional information that may be helpful based upon past questions from parents/ carers:

Q) Why do social workers need to include education in an assessment and plan?

A) Education is a very large and important part of a child’s life (no matter how it is delivered). Social work assessments need to be holistic in order to understanding a child’s experience and world so that their world and needs can be understood and the right support offered. Therefore, there is need to include education in every case, including where education is going well (however it is being delivered) as this will be a positive and a strength.

Q) How is education a safeguarding issue?

A failure to provide a suitable education, or educational neglect which then impairs a child’s health or development, may satisfy the threshold of significant harm under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 and therefore be considered a safeguarding issue.

CHILD IN NEED (CIN)

A parent’s right to home educate their children does not stop if the children are on a CIN plan (Child in Need) however care should be taken in how to approach this. If you decide to home educate, it would be helpful to write your reasons for wanting to home educate, the benefits to your child(ren) and any plans you have around this for your social worker, this will help to reassure them around your decision. If your social worker does not know much (or anything) about home education, you can share our information for professionals printout. Your social worker will then decide with their manager whether this will lead to any additional safeguarding concerns that may need to be addressed. They will then make any changes necessary at your next Child in Need Review meeting.

You will still be within your rights to request communications with your Elective Home Education worker/team to be in writing and to decline visits, however, you will need to check what is written on your Child in Need plan, as there may be directions on the plan for certain professionals to complete visits, and it will be expected that this is done. If you want to challenge this, it would be helpful to do so in writing to your social worker, and to discuss it at your next Child in Need Review meeting.

It is helpful to remember that any assessment, service or plan, including a Child in Need plan is under section 17 of the Children Act (1989) which is voluntary, and only carried out and continued with your consent. Involvement at this level can be positive and bring support such as access to more specialist teams and support, multi-agency working in complex cases, and support with addressing other issues such as housing etc. However, if you feel that what is being requested or offered would not be of benefit for your family, you can withdraw from the assessment/ service and should put this in writing to the social worker/ team you are in contact with. Your views and feelings are important and should be heard. However, as mentioned above, if children’s services feel that your declining further involvement will lead to safeguarding concerns, they will let you know this and whether they will need to escalate the case if you decline their involvement.

Child in Need assessments and plans are not always in place due to safeguarding concerns. Any child with a disability is entitled to a needs assessment under section 17 Child in Need. These assessments and plans can lead to additional support such as short breaks, respite, support for siblings, funding for support from personal assistants (if these things are assessed as being necessary), as well as general support and multi-agency working which can be helpful in complex cases.

CHILD PROTECTION (CP)

A parent’s right to home educate does not stop when their child(ren) is on a Child Protection plan, however the situation is different from that of a Child in Need plan. Child Protection plans come under section 47 of the Children Act (1989) and are not voluntary unlike Child in Need plans. You cannot just withdraw from the Child Protection process, or a Child Protection plan, and if you try to withdraw against social worker advice or take different actions to those stipulated upon the Child Protection plan, this may cause the social work team to become concerned and need to decide whether to escalate the case further.

This does not mean that you will not be able to home educate on a Child Protection Plan. If you feel that home education will benefit your child(ren), you should put your views and plans in writing to your social worker. You will also need to be aware of what is written in your child’s Child Protection plan, as there may be actions in place regarding education that you may need to consider in your plan to home educate. Following receiving the request and plans to home educate in writing, the social worker and their manager will then consider the request within the context of your child(ren)’s plan taking any safeguarding issues into consideration. Any changes such as wanting to home educate will need to be discussed at your next Child Protection review meeting, where the conference chair will be able to consider your plans, the views of you and your child(ren), and the views of the professionals involved and amend the Child Protection plan.

If children’s services feel that a child(ren) may be at greater safeguarding risk from being home educated, a SAO (School Attendance Order) may be issued.

If home educating on a Child Protection plan, you will still be within your rights to request communications with the Elective Home Education team to be in writing and say that you do not want visits, however if the conference chair writes that visits from the EHE team are to be carried out into the Child Protection plan, you would be expected to comply with this. Of course, your views and voice are important, and it is fine for you to put your views in writing to your social worker and discuss them at the conference. Your views and those of your child(ren) should always be actively sought and considered throughout the process.

SUPPORT FOR YOU

Having involvement from Children’s Services can be a very stressful and worrying time, meetings and visits can be very daunting. You can choose to have a supportive family member or friend with you at visits and meetings, this can be helpful as they can write notes for you, advocate for you and give general support. You will need to ask permission to have someone support you at a Child Protection conference and some other meetings, but it can be possible.

It can be helpful to write down your views, thoughts, feelings, wishes and questions before a visit or meeting and bring them with you as a prompt and to help ensure your voice is heard.

Social workers will always need to meet with your children/ young people. Their voice and understanding their world is central to any social work interaction, assessment and report. Sometimes the social worker will want to see your child alone, and this can be a worrying time for parents. Social workers have training and experience of doing direct work with children and young people of all ages and will have an array of tools they can use in their visit with your children, this could be colouring, games, craft activities, and worksheets. If your child is anxious about this or has additional needs that make speaking with people difficult, you can communicate this to your social worker and suggest ways to make the visit/ meeting more comfortable for your child. This could be for example meeting in a certain space where they feel comfortable, the child having certain toys with them or doing certain activities, or meeting at a certain time of day that is better. Social workers can also use technology to communicate with children and young people and if your young person prefers a video call or to email, this could be included as part of the contact with the social worker too. Your social worker should be flexible and sensitive to your child’s needs, and it is absolutely fine for you to suggest the most appropriate ways of communicating with your child.

If you need additional support or have any needs that make communicating with or working with the social worker difficult, there may be an advocacy service in your area that can support you.

If you feel you are having any difficulties with your social worker or the team, you can request to speak to the team manager to share your concerns. It is always best to do things in writing and get meeting minutes of any meetings you have in situations like this. The social work team will want to work with you to support your family. However, if you still have concerns you can follow the complaints procedure which will be on your local authority’s children’s services website.

The legislation, processes and terminology in children’s services especially the Child Protection process can be complicated, and we do not have room to explain it here. If you would like to know more about it, you can visit the Family Rights Group website