What happens at a pre-proceedings meeting?

Children’s services will outline any assessments or work that they would like the parents to do.

They should be clear about:

• Who they would like to do any assessments
• The time frame for assessments and any work should be set.

The solicitors may discuss sending a letter of instruction. The letter is a set of instructions for a person who is being asked to carry out an assessment.  This could be a social worker doing a parenting assessment. It could be a letter for a psychiatrist is a parent’s mental health needs assessing.

A letter of instruction explains:

• Background information including the things that children’s services are worried about
• Why an assessment is needed
• What questions the person doing the assessment is being asked to answer
• When the assessment needs to be carried out.

Children’s services may ask the parents to sign up to a written agreement. This 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 precise concerns.

Examples of what written agreements may include are that:

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

Children’s services should always explain what will happen if the agreement is not kept to.  If the parent does not keep to certain parts of the agreement, it may mean that children’s services look to start care proceedings. If a parent cannot keep to a certain point in the agreement, then they should discuss this with their solicitor.

It is helpful if children’s services give share a copy of the written agreement with parents before the pre-proceedings meeting.

If a written agreement is only shared in the meeting, parents should have time to read and discuss it with their solicitor. There should be a break in the meeting so this can happen.

There may be things that need to be added or changed in the agreement.  If more time is needed then sometimes the agreement can be signed later on after the meeting.  A parent should not sign a written agreement without reading it carefully, and taking legal advice on it.

At the end of the meeting, children’s services should agree a date for a review meeting.

This may be about six to eight weeks later. But the date may also depend on how long assessments or other work will take.