Written agreement

A written agreement is a document which should set out the things the parents and children’s services have said they will or will not do.  What is included will depend on the situation and the concerns that children’s services have.  Examples of what written agreements can include are that:

• Children’s services will put in place a particular kind of extra help or support by a certain date
• The parents may agree that they will not drink alcohol when the child is in their care
• The parents agree to take part in a parenting assessment.

Any written agreement should be written in a clear way, using plain language. If it needs to be translated into another language this should happen.  If an interpreted is needed to make sure the agreement is fully understood, children’s services should arrange this.

Parents and carers should always be given enough time to read an agreement. And they should always able to ask questions about it.  Children’s services should never put someone under pressure to enter into a written agreement. A parent should not sign a written agreement without reading it carefully and where appropriate taking legal advice.

Important: If the agreement is being made as part of a voluntary arrangement for a child to come into the care system, see our Children coming into the care system under voluntary arrangements (section 20) page for further information.