Key points
Enquiries into significant harm are conducted under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989. They are often referred to as child protection enquiries, and should be led by a qualified and experienced social worker. The enquiry should be completed as part of a core assessment.
The timescale for completion of a core assessment is 35 days but the social worker will have only 15 days at most before a child protection conference, if one is to be held. The child protection enquiry is only the beginning of the core assessment, and should concentrate on deciding whether the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. It should cover, as far as possible, the three dimensions in the assessment framework:
- child development
- parenting capacity
- family and environmental factors.
Workers should be aware of the potential needs and safety of any other children in the home and should also consider other children that the alleged offender may have (or have had) contact with. [ WTSC 5.60]
Police and social workers carrying out the child protection enquiry should do their utmost to get co-operation and participation from family members and other professionals. They should be prepared to explain and justify their actions and demonstrate how their actions will benefit the child. [WTSC 5.61]
It is not necessary to get the family’s consent to make enquiries of other professionals involved with the child, but the relationship with parents will be much better if they have given consent. If it is not given, a decision must be made by the social worker’s manager on how to proceed.
All children there are concerns about should be seen and spoken to alone, unless
- they are in a place where their safety can be assured, or
- doing so would seriously damage any criminal investigation.
If a child is not seen and spoken to alone, the reason why not must be recorded on the case file.
Where the child has an observable injury, this should be indicated on a skin map.
Parents and children should be informed that they can access these procedures at www.swcpp.org.uk They should also be told that they are entitled to advice, advocacy and support from independent sources. Where these sources are known to exist, they should be given details of them.
Where a child is living in a residential establishment, the possible impact on other children living in the establishment should be considered [WTSC 5.73]
It may be apparent at the end of a core assessment that the child is suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm in which case a strategy discussion should be held.
It may be the case that the child is ‘in need’ but not at risk of significant harm. If so, press here.
How to do it
Child protection enquiries should always be carried out so as to minimise distress to the child, and ensure that families are treated sensitively and with respect. Workers should explain the purpose of enquiries to parents and children and be prepared to answer questions openly, unless doing so would affect the safety of the child [WTSC 5.69] Remember that, in the great majority of cases, children remain with their families, even where concerns about abuse or neglect have been proven [WTSC 5.70]
Enquiries should always include separate discussions, away from their parents, with the children who are the subject of concern. They should also include interviews with parents and observation of the interactions between parents and children.
It is particularly important not to ask a child closed questions (ones which can be answered yes or no). So ‘can you tell me what happened?’ is a helpful question but ‘did daddy hit you?’ is not. Nor should anything be said that might enable a lawyer, if the case comes to court, to suggest that the professionals were ‘putting words into the mouth’ of the child.
Where a child or parent is disabled, or where English is not their first language, it will often be necessary to provide someone with the relevant communication or language skills. This person should not be a member or friend of the family.
Unless doing so would place the child at increased risk of significant harm, or prejudice enquiries under Section 47 or a police investigation, the social worker should
- inform parents of the reasons for the enquiries at the earliest opportunity
- seek consent to see and talk with the children
- seek consent to contact other relevant agencies regarding the concerns.
If consent is not given social workers have a duty to talk to children alone and collect and share information with other agencies. They should inform parents of this fact.
At the end of the enquiry the social worker and their manager need to decide what to do next. They should decide this in discussion with all who have carried out, or been significantly involved in, the enquiries, including foster carers and the child and parents themselves [WTSC 5.72] This should be recorded on the Outcome of Section 47 Enquiry record (2002).
It is important for all the professionals dealing with the child during the enquiry to record any contact that they have and feed this back to the social worker.
Lessons from research
Children born to parents with learning difficulties are more likely to be removed from their care. Some 50 per cent of cases result in permanent removal, and one third of children are removed under the age of one, suggesting that they are judged more harshly. Often the evidence brought against these parents would not be sufficient to result in removal from non-disabled parents.
See Booth T: Care Proceedings and parents with learning difficulties in Child and Family Social Work Vol 10, Issue 4 (2005).
An overview of serious case reviews showed that these questions were rarely asked:
- what is the child’s own view about life at home or in care?
- how does the child respond to their parents or their carers?
- what is life like for this child in this family?
- how is this child different from others in the family, at school or in the street?
See Brandon M: Serious Case Reviews: Learning to use Expertise in Child Abuse Review Vol 14, Issue 3 (2005)
