Recent Parental Assessment

[Father78]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone recently undertaken a parental assessment that could PM with me.
I have had 3 visits from the ISW over the last 2 weeks. I have another visit this Wednesday and was told the assessment is close to being complete! The last 3 visits and the next one have and will be conducted without my son present or remotely.

Most of the questions I found relevant and was happy to go into details explaining my views and experiences.

However I also found 5/6 questions heavily loaded towards an ongoing police investigation/ allegation that I found bizzare and uncomfortable answering. I did answer these questions but I would be interested if these questions I was asked are generic or specific in nature.

My son is currently under an ICO with the final hearing being in May 2025.

Local Authority are incompetent to say the least and I have zero confidence in them to go as far as to coerce the ISW into fishing for information or manipulating the assessment.

Kind regards

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Father78

Welcome back to the parents’ discussion board. Thank you for your post.

You are in the process of having a parenting assessment completed by an independent social worker. This is because there are care proceedings or your son. He is subject to an interim care order and the final hearing in the court case is due in May.

I think you are worried that the assessment is quite short and does not involve your son. When a child is not in their parent’s care then the parenting assessment may not include the child. You should have been provided with information before the assessment started about what was involved, how many sessions there would be etc. You could ask the independent social worker to clarify this or check with your solicitor or son’s social worker what was agreed at the time. It is also a good idea to ask the independent social worker to keep you informed about when they will finish their assessment.

You have cooperated well with the assessment and answered all the questions the social worker asked you. But you have a query about the nature of several questions which relate to an ongoing police investigation. You did reply to the questions but are wondering if the questions are generic or specific.

You would like to hear from other parents. Perhaps parents in a similar situation will reply to you too.

I cannot give a specific answer on such limited information. But where a parent is the subject of a criminal investigation which could suggest a risk of harm to children then it is reasonable that the assessing social worker will ask relevant questions to explore this issue. A parenting assessment will also address how a parent would recognise and respond to a number of different risks and some of these issues may understandably feel uncomfortable. You can ask the social worker directly to explain more about the questions they asked .

The independent social worker is an independent professional and their focus as with all the professionals is on your son’s needs. But if you have concerns about bias or coercion or the outcome of the assessment, please let your solicitor know urgently and confirm with them how they will help you respond or challenge. Please see our guide to working with a solicitor to assist you with this.

I hope the rest of your assessment goes well.

If you have a query about children’s services please post back, call our freephone advice line on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm (except bank holidays) or use our webchat or advice enquiry form services.

Best wishes

Suzie