S47 initiated after false allegations

[Fatherof480]

Hi there,

On 28th October, SS turned up at our door with 2 police officers (1 a trainee) in regards to comments made by our disabled twin daughters whilst in school, I will name them as Twin F and Twin L.

Twin F stated "she got slapped" during a lesson about abuse and claimed it happened 2 days prior to her claim. Twin L claimed she was inappropriately touched by her uncle.

When the twins were interviewed In our home, Twin F changed her story claiming it was "2-3 months ago or something like that" but couldn't name who did it or where it happened. Twin F refused blindly that she had never said that and wanted to call her teacher a liar.

SW told us that another SW would be out to question our youngest 2 daughters within 48 hours but they still havent come out to see them. I spoke to the SW 3 days later, asking if she could find out when Twin L had made this claim and she said she would get right on it but no response as yet.
Next day, Twin F told us she went into school and changed her story again saying it was 2-3 years ago she got slapped. 26 days later, we've not heard a thing about the investigation.

Now, Twin F has had a bad reputation of making false allegations against me and my wife and also against former teachers and their former PA which were all quashed as she always changes her story and its been put down to attention seeking. Twin L on the other hand, has never been like this and it is a first, yet she is still adamant that she never said anything like this.

We still havent heard anything from SS and it dumfounds me that if there was anything to these allegations, then they wouldn't be leaving it this long to finalise, let alone the risks our children were potentially facing if the allegations were true. Also as the 15 working days period has passed for an ICPC, surely they must have some doubt of these allegations aswell.

We are also questioning the reliability of their school as it has come under a lot of scrutiny within the last 12 months as OFSTED reports have gone from outstanding to requires improvement and it has been noted that there are at least 2 teachers/TA's who have been found guilty of physical abuse to students recently.

Another reason I am questioning the school is that I received an email from Twin F's teacher stating that Twin F was touched on her bottom by another student during a music lesson, early last week. When I questioned Twin F, she said she wasn't as she doesn't have music lessons and that it was infact Twin L who was touched on her bottom by another student during her music lesson. This leads me to believe that maybe the accusation that was made by Twin L initially was actually made by Twin F and they've gotten the wrong child?

What should be our next steps be please?

[Winter25]

Hi Fatherof480,

I’m really glad you’ve posted, because what you are describing is one of the most common and frightening situations parents face when a Section 47 is triggered based on unclear or inconsistent school disclosures. You are not alone in this , and the long silence from social services is actually a strong sign that they do not believe there is immediate safeguarding risk.

Let me break down what is happening and what you can do next.

1. The inconsistent disclosures matter more than you think

Twin F has changed her story:

2 days ago

then 2–3 months ago

then 2–3 years ago

then denied ever saying it at all

This pattern tells professionals the allegation is not reliable evidence of harm.

The fact she called the teacher a liar is also significant in terms of credibility.

You mentioned she has a history of false allegations due to attention-seeking, social workers will already know this and will factor it in.

Twin L denies the allegation made in her name.
That is also important.

Professionals do not treat inconsistent historic allegations (with no named perpetrator and no location) as evidence of abuse.

2. If they truly believed the children were unsafe, you would NOT be hearing silence

When an allegation is believed to be credible, the timeline is:

Same-day visit

Strategy meeting within 24 hours
Section 47 enquiries begin immediately
ICPC within 15 working days
Full investigation written
Safety plan in place

You are past the ICPC window with:
no follow-up
no interviews
no meetings
no concerns raised
no interim safety plan

The lack of action means they do not believe these disclosures amount to significant harm.

3. You are right to question the school’s reliability

If the school ,mixed up which twin was touched or

communicated poorly
confused incidents
has teachers recently found guilty of abusing students
is under scrutiny from Ofsted

…then the possibility of misreporting or misinterpreting a disclosure is absolutely real.

Schools sometimes report allegations incorrectly, especially when children have disabilities or communication differences.

4. Your next steps (the ones that actually protect your family)
A. Email the social worker and manager , short, factual, in writing

You simply ask for the below ( change the parts inside the brackets)
-----------
Subject: Request for Update and Clarification – Section 47 Enquiry re [Children’s Names]

Dear [Social Worker’s Name] and [Team Manager’s Name],

I am writing regarding the Section 47 enquiry that was initiated on 28 October in relation to my daughters, [Twin F] and [Twin L].

On that date, you attended our home with two police officers and informed us that:

[Twin F] had reported being “slapped”; and

[Twin L] had reported inappropriate touching by an uncle.

You also advised that another social worker would visit within 48 hours to speak with our younger daughters. That visit has not yet taken place, and we have received no further update on the investigation.

Since then, there have been significant inconsistencies in the information we have been told:

[Twin F] has changed her account several times (two days ago, 2–3 months ago, 2–3 years ago) and has been unable to say who allegedly hurt her or where.

[Twin L] remains clear that she did not make the allegation attributed to her.

Given that more than 15 working days have now passed since the Section 47 started, I would be grateful if you could please:

Confirm whether the Section 47 enquiry is still ongoing or has been concluded.

If it has been concluded, confirm the outcome in writing.

Clarify, in summary, what disclosures were actually recorded from each child and on what date.

Confirm whether a Child Protection Conference has been held or will be held, and if not, why not.

As parents, we are fully committed to safeguarding our children and to cooperating with any reasonable enquiries. At the same time, we need clear written information about the status and outcome of this investigation so that we can understand what, if anything, is required of us going forward.

I would be grateful for a response within 10 working days.

Kind regards,
----


Keep all communication in writing going forward

No calls.
No verbal updates.
Everything written becomes evidence.

D. Document every inconsistency in a calm timeline

This will help if the case drags on.

5. What not to do
Don’t confront the school emotionally
Don’t speculate about staff guilt
Don’t accuse professionals
Don’t chase SS aggressively (it can backfire)

Your strength right now is the LA’s silence , which tells you the case is not escalating.

Nothing in your description resembles a case where parents are removed from children.

This looks like more like inconsistent disclosures, communication errors, a cautious school and an LA carrying out the bare minimum of checks and now letting the case drift because it’s not supported by evidence.

You are not in danger here.
You are in a paperwork limbo.
----------
For full transparency, I am not an official adviser for this forum. I am a parent who has been through a long and successful legal battle with a local authority, and I share guidance based on lived experience. It is up to each parent to decide what is right for their situation.

[Fatherof480]

Thank you for replying Winter25, the information was extremely helpful.

I do im fact have an update from the school which has really angered me and I have submitted a formal complaint to SS through our local council.

I spoke to the schools vice principal if she could give me the info I required in regards to both girls and what was actually stated by them. To my horror, I was informed that Twin L in fact, didn't make an allegation of being inappropriately touched by an uncle. They were having a class discussion, pupil led, about abuse. Twin L only stated that somebody could be inappropriately touched by an uncle, and the VP said she had it recorded word-for-word on her system. Also, Twin F had stated during a class discussion on relationships, after another student mentioned about a partner could be hit, that she said she got smacked and gave no timeline as to when this occurred, yet social reported that she got slapped 2 days before this discussion.

Something is seriously amiss as both statements have been changed somewhere between the schools safeguarding team and the CDT (children's disability team) and its made things look worse than what it actually is.

This has caused myself and my wife to be succumbed to unnecessary stress which has seriously affected my sleep and given me insomnia and my wife has recently undergone surgery to remove cancer from her thyroid gland and she has been worried sick. Someone is going to pay for this mess up.

[winmau]

Hi, please look at your DMs

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Fatherof480

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board. Thank you for your posts. My name is Suzie. I am Family Rights Group’s online adviser. Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to your queries.

I am sorry to hear about your difficult family situation and that it is having an emotional toll on you and your wife. It is distressing to be involved in a child protection process.

You explain that your twin girls, both of whom have disabilities, said at school (during a lesson on abuse) that they had been abused. One child said she had been slapped, two days earlier, and her sister said that she had been touched inappropriately by her uncle. This prompted police and children’s services to attend your home to follow up on the concerns raised about possible physical and sexual abuse. You cooperated fully. The social worker spoke to the girls about what had happened and when. You describe how one of your daughters gave a different account of what she had said and when the alleged incident had happened and that your other daughter denied saying anything.

The social worker told you that another social worker would visit to speak to your two younger girls in the next couple of days – but unfortunately, this never happened.

Since then, you have had no real update or information from children’s services. You had concerns about the school’s reliability and contacted them to clarify what the girls said and what timeline they mentioned. This has resulted in the school providing a quite different account of what the girls said and what you were told the referral was about by children’s services.

Your frustration and distress at the lack of updates and your discovery that different information is held by the girls’ school and children’s services is understandable. You are doing your best to cooperate but are not being kept as informed or updated as you should be which adds another layer of distress to a difficult situation.

You have now submitted a formal complaint to children’s services. Children’s services should respond to your stage 1 complaint within 10 working days so hopefully you will get that response soon. It is not ok that your family has been left in such an uncertain and upsetting situation and that children’s services have not kept you and your wife updated about the enquiries they are conducting. The maximum timescale for completing an assessment is 45 working days (unless they are classed as complex) but child protection enquiries are often completed much sooner.

Another parent has suggested that you write to the social worker and their manager asking for clarification about the status of the child protection enquiries. In addition, you can also ask that they confirm when you will be provided with a copy of their assessment so that you can see what information has been gathered, how your views have been represented, how information has been analysed and what their recommendations are. I appreciate that you may have already raised these queries in your complaint but if not then you can do so separately. As the information to date, including about what was said and when it refers to, has been confusing and inconsistent, it will be important to see how the social worker makes sense of this in their assessment and how the lack of clarity is addressed.

Please see details of services below that may be of interest to you:

• Child abuse, bullying and exploitation
• Disabilty including learning disability
• Advocacy for children and young people.

Please post back if you have any further queries. If you would like to speak to an adviser the lines are open rom 9.30 am to 3.00 pm, Mon to Fri (except bank holidays) on freephone 0808 8010366.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes

Suzie

[Fatherof480]

Thank you for getting back to me and apologies for the delay in responding.

We finally received a phone call yesterday from Childrens Services asking to come out to do an assessment on our youngest 2 daughters in which we've arranged for tomorrow. We're a little bit distraught, especially when they mentioned they'll be doing police background checks on myself and my wife. The social worker was also concerned that we haven't been contacted by the disabilities team yet and is trying to get them to contact us. Is there anything we should be prepared for in regards to her visit as our 14 yr old is a very shy person and our 11 yr old has ADHD and doesn't take questioning very seriously and will probably laugh a lot when being put under pressure? Any advice would be brilliant.

[Winter25]

Hi Fatherof480,

I’m really glad you updated the thread, because what you’ve described is exactly how a Section 47 usually unfolds when professionals do not believe there is immediate risk but still need to “finish the paperwork.” The long silence, the changed school statements, and the sudden re-appearance now all point to a case that is routine, not one that is escalating.

Let me break down what tomorrow’s visit actually means and how to handle it calmly.

1. The background checks and the visit are standard procedure

I know hearing “police checks” sounds alarming, but it is not a sign they suspect you of anything.

Under Section 47 protocol, when a child makes any disclosure (even if inconsistent or clearly mistaken), social services must:

• close the loop with all siblings
• run basic checks on the adults
• complete the assessment they already told you they would do

This is required even when they already believe the allegation is unreliable.
It is not a sign of concern.
It is simply the process being completed late.

The fact they left this for weeks tells you everything:
if they believed your children were unsafe, they would have been in your home the next day.

2. What tomorrow’s visit will actually look like

This is usually:

• a very brief chat with each younger child (5–10 minutes)
• mostly very general questions
• checking nothing worrying is happening at home
• a look at sleeping arrangements
• reassurance that school misunderstandings are being checked

They are not coming to interrogate your children.
This is a “tick-box” visit.

If they thought your home was unsafe, this would have happened weeks ago.

3. How to prepare your 11-year-old and 14-year-old

You do not coach them.
But you do give them reassurance.

Something like:

“You haven’t done anything wrong.
A misunderstanding happened at school, and social services just have to check that everyone is okay.
You can answer their questions honestly, and it’s fine to say you don’t know or you don’t remember.”

For your 14-year-old (shy):

“It’s okay to be nervous.
You don’t have to say a lot.
Just be honest and answer simply.”

For your 11-year-old (ADHD, laughs under pressure):

Tell the social worker beforehand:

“She laughs when she’s nervous or put on the spot, and she can look like she’s joking when she isn’t. Please don’t interpret it as avoidance.”

This protects her in advance.

4. What to say to the social worker before they begin

Calm, simple, factual:

“Before we start, I just want it noted that both original school disclosures were reported incorrectly. The school has confirmed in writing that the statements social services received were not what the girls said. We want to cooperate fully, but we also want this recorded accurately.”

This is important because it sets the record straight before they write their report.

5. What NOT to do

• Do not show anger
• Do not confront the social worker
• Do not accuse the school during the visit
• Do not over-explain
• Do not let fear push you into saying too much

Keep everything calm and factual.
You are already on the safe side of this enquiry.

6. Why the delays actually work in your favour

A Section 47 only escalates when:

• disclosures are consistent
• details match
• the child is distressed
• there is a named perpetrator
• the LA believes there is real risk

None of that applies here.

Your timeline shows:

• inconsistent disclosures
• proven school error
• weeks of no contact
• no ICPC
• no safety plan
• no escalation

This is the behaviour of a local authority that knows the allegation is weak.

7. What happens next

Most cases like yours end with:

“Concerns not substantiated. No further action.”

or

“Step down to Child in Need only if disability support is needed.”

There is nothing in your situation that resembles a case where children are removed or where serious concerns exist.

You are dealing with a communication error, a misreported disclosure, and a very slow CDT team.

That is frustrating, but it is not dangerous.


Disclaimer:
I am not an adviser, moderator, or FRG staff member. I am a parent with lived experience of the child protection system, sharing peer support and information only. Please treat everything I write as supportive guidance, not official advice.

[Fatherof480]

We havent had the CDT involved due to their disabilities since CP ceased in 2014. The only involvement was due to a package in place for respite once a month and this ended in June this year and we were signed off from their services. I want to find out who the case worker for the twins is as someone has messed up big time and heads will roll. Hopefully I should hear back soon about my complaint to X.

[Winter25]

Your update makes complete sense, and it also confirms something important:
this situation is not about risk in your home, it is about administrative mistakes inside the system.

Let me break down what you’ve just written and what it actually means for your case.

1. If CDT signed you off in June, they should not have been involved in the referral at all

You said CDT had no involvement with your twins after June 2024 because:

their respite package ended

the case was closed

you were formally signed off

If that is correct, then the CDT should NOT have been the team receiving or processing the safeguarding referral and any communication between the school and CDT instead of the normal social care team was incorrect any decisions or “interpretations” made by a team no longer allocated to your children are procedurally flawed

This is a valid point to raise in your complaint.

2. You are right to want to know who handled the referral

You are entitled to clarity.
Your next step is simple and safe:

Ask for the name of the social worker who received the referral and who recorded the children’s disclosures.

This is your right under both: The Children Act (parental involvement), and the Data Protection Act (you are entitled to know who processed information about your family).

You don’t need to frame it as “heads will roll”, simply ask something like the following

“Please confirm the name and role of the worker who received and recorded the disclosures from the school, as the CDT was not an allocated team since June 2024.”

This forces transparency without sounding confrontational.

3. The fact the CDT never contacted you is another sign the allegation was not treated as credible

If the CDT was mistakenly involved, and then didn’t follow up, that strengthens your position that the process was mishandled and the school’s version was inaccurate, social care did not treat the allegations as a genuine safeguarding risk

Procedural confusion is common when multiple teams close and reopen case, but that confusion should never fall on your shoulders.

4. Your complaint to X is absolutely justified

Your grounds are solid in my opinion:

The school’s statements were incorrect.
The CDT were not the correct team to involve.
Social services misreported the disclosures.
You received no update for weeks.
Your family suffered distress because the communication was wrong.

These are all legitimate concerns.
Your complaint will force them to provide a clear written explanation of:

who logged the referral
what information they received
what they changed
and why you were left without updates

5. What I would do next

While waiting for X’s response:

Keep everything in writing
Ask for the names of the SW, CDT worker (if any), and manager involved
Request a written summary of what was actually said at school
Request a written timeline of the Section 47 process

This puts you firmly back in control.

Nothing in your updates suggests the Section 47 is escalating.
Everything suggests administrative error and sloppy communication, not risk.

This is now a complaint issue, a professional practice issue, a “record correction” issue

It is not a child protection concern, that's important to know
===
For clarity: I am not an adviser or FRG staff member. I am a parent with lived experience offering peer support. Please treat this as supportive guidance only, and always decide what feels right for your family.

[Fatherof480]

Unfortunately, im not being given any contact details for the CDT social worker so I cannot email her. I can't even find any details about their office.