How to contact us for advice

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Our advice service

We provide advice to parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and kinship carers who are involved with children’s services in England or need their help. We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.

Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.

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By phone or email

To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). For Textphone dial 18001 followed by the advice line number. Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.

Discuss on our forums

Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.

Advice on our website

Our get help and advice section describes the processes that you and your family are likely to go through, so that you know what to expect. Our webchat service can help you find the information and advice on our website which will help you understand the law and your rights.

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Physical abuse definition

This means causing any kind of physical harm to a child. For example, hitting, shaking, throwing, burning or scalding a child.

The government’s definition includes ‘fabricated induced illness’. This is where a parent or carer exaggerates, or causes illness in a child on purpose. It also includes a parent or carer fabricating the symptoms of illness in a child. This was previously known as “Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy”.

For more information see our advice pages on:

Physical abuse

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Our funding means we can currently only help 4 in 10 people

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