‘Seeing the child’ includes observing and communicating with them, as appropriate given their age and understanding, ascertaining their wishes and feelings about the concerns that have been expressed, and taking those wishes into account. Wherever possible, the child must always be seen alone.
Exceptionally, a joint enquiry/investigation team may need to speak to a suspected child victim without the knowledge of the parent of caregiver. The strategy discussion will have decided on the most appropriate way to handle this, using specialist professional help or professionals who know the child well where necessary. The kinds of circumstances that may require such an interview with the child would include:
- the possibility that the child would be threatened or otherwise coerced into silence
- a strong likelihood that important evidence would be destroyed
- when the child did not wish the parent(s) to be involved at that stage, and is assessed by Children’s Social Care as being competent to take that decision
Children’s Social Care should always seek the parents’ co-operation with Section 47 enquiries, but if the parents refuse access to a child – and where concerns about that child’s safety are not so urgent as to require an emergency protection order – the local authority may consider applying to the court for a Child Assessment Order.
