How to contact us for advice
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.
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.
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.
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.
At times families may not agree with the decisions made by children’s services or by individual social workers. In some situations family members may want to raise concerns or make a complaint.
The law and guidance about complaints can be found in three main places:
Complaints can be made by parents, people caring for children and family members involved with a child. Some children can make a complaint themselves too.
The person who is making the complaint is called the complainant.
The detailed lists of people who can make a complaint can be found in the Children Act 1989 (see section 26(3), section 26(3B) and 26(3(C) and in Getting the best from complaints 2006 at paragraph 2.1.6).
| A child in need | Any child looked after by children’s services | A child subject of a special guardianship order |
| The parent of a child in need | Other persons with parental responsibility for a child in need | The parent of a looked after child |
| Other persons with parental responsibility for a looked after child | A special guardian | Someone who has applied for special guardianship support services |
| A foster carer approved by children’s services | An adopted child | A child who may be adopted, their parents and guardian |
| An adopted child’s birth parents or former guardian | Adoptive parents | Anyone else who children’s services consider has a ‘sufficient interest’ in the child’s welfare |
The subject of a complaint can be wide-ranging. Social workers can make many decisions about a child’s upbringing. Children’s services provide a range of services for children and families. But most often, a complaint will either about:
General decision making
Children’s services should discuss with parents, or relevant carers, the decisions they make about a child. A complaint can be about the way in which decisions were made by the social worker or children’s services.
A complaint might be about:
Child protection
Parents and carers can make formal complaints about the child protection process. How exactly to complain depends on what the complaint is about. For example, whether it is about child protection enquiries and assessment. Or about a child protection conference.
Easy to follow information about this is available in the Complaining about a child protection conference section of our Child protection page. It includes a template letter to support families in making complaints about child protection conferences.
Services or support for a child in need
A child in need, who is disabled or who is likely to have his health or development impaired without the provision of services, is entitled to support. Children’s services can provide extra help for the child in need. Help can also be provided for any member of the child’s family. But extra help for other family members must be with the aim of improving the child’s safety or wellbeing (See section 17(3) Children Act 1989).
Complaints can be made about:
Decisions following Family Court orders
Court orders made for the care, supervision or emergency protection of children place duties on children’s services. A failure to carry out those duties can be the subject of a complaint.
In relation to a care or supervision order, a complaint can be about:
In relation to an emergency protection order, a complaint can be about:
See Getting the best from complaints, 2006 at paragraph 2.2.2.
Services or support for a looked after child
Children who are in care under a court order or are looked after in the care system under a voluntary arrangement, are able to qualify for support from a children’s service.
Complaints may be about:
Decisions about contact
Children’s services departments have a legal duty to promote contact between children looked after in the care system their family members, provided it is safe. Children services cannot stop contact altogether without the permission of a court.
A complaint could be about:
See our Children in care under a court order page and our Children in the care system under voluntary arrangements (section 20) page for more information about the duties children’s services have to promote contact for children who are looked after in the care system.
See also our advice sheet on Contact orders where a child is in the care system.
Special guardianship services
Special guardians and children under a special guardianship order may be assessed for support or provided with support services.
A complaint can be about:
See Getting the best from complaints, 2006 at paragraph 2.4.
Adoption services
Complaints can be made about:
See Getting the best from complaints, 2006 at paragraph 2.3.
Click on the blocks below to find answers to questions families often have about making complaints.
There are three stages to the children’s services complaint process. A complaint may be resolved at any one of these stages. The three stages and the timescales for each are explained government guidance (see Getting the best from complaints 2006 at paragraph 3.1.2). They are:
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