New film for parents with learning difficulties and disabilities working with child and family social workers

Family Rights Group teamed up with Speakup Rotherham—an advocacy organisation for people with learning difficulties and disabilities—alongside parents with lived experience, to create this vital resource.

The film breaks down what may happen when a social worker first gets involved in a child’s life through fictional scenes between a social worker and a parent, based on real life examples. It explains some of the steps that child and family social workers can take and what some of the words they use mean in clear, understandable language. It shows how social workers should communicate and work together with parents with difficulties and disabilities and highlights how parents can make their voices heard, including the important role of an advocate.

Parents with difficulties and disabilities played a vital role in every stage of development, ensuring the film accurately reflects their experiences and addresses the issues they face. From shaping the content to appearing in the film, their input and insights were central to its creation.

Parents with learning disabilities are disproportionately represented in child protection cases in England. Many face overwhelming, complex processes filled with jargon, and struggle to get the right support, including advocacy, at the right time.

This underscores the importance of co-producing a film that delivers clear, simple, and easily accessible information for parents who are working with a child and family social worker.

The film focuses on what may happen when a child and family social worker first gets involved with a family, but its principles for how social workers should work with parents who have learning difficulties and disabilities apply at all stages. Designed primarily for parents, it is also a valuable resource for social workers, lawyers, family support workers, and advocates who are looking to better support parents with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Acknowledgments

Family Rights Group extends its gratitude to The Legal Education Fund for funding the development and production of this film.