This is a court order that means a child must be made available for assessment. The assessment may be, for example, by a doctor. Children’s services may apply for this when they suspect the child is at risk, but the parents do not want the child to be assessed.
The court can only make an order if it agrees there is reason to suspect the child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm and that the assessment will not happen without the order being made.
A child assessment order lasts for seven days and cannot be extended. If the parents refuse to comply with the order, this is likely to add to children’s services’ concerns about the child. In such a situation, children’s services might then apply for an emergency protection order or care order.