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This is for @acatfromgreece @reidoflemanst @ItsWeary & anyone else who wants to pass it on.
Referral Forms/PPN1/MASH forms - aka your form to Children’s Services. We get to see them. We read them. They are,and I cannot stress this enough,absolutely chuffing VITAL. Here’s why/1
Referral Forms/PPN1/MASH forms - aka your form to Children’s Services. We get to see them. We read them. They are,and I cannot stress this enough,absolutely chuffing VITAL. Here’s why/1
Whatever you call them, when the LA need to take action they are the absolute best bit of primary evidence I can get my hands on. They’re time and date stamped. They’re taken at face value. They’re admissible as evidence without question. They’re the history that we need to /2
build the case. They show how things haven’t changed. They show what happened that night when there was no MG11 because there was a retraction. I don’t need your MG11 or your body worn or your PNB. I don’t need you. But I do need your form. Care proceedings = civil standard /3
So please, believe me when I say that, had I known how important they were when I used to write them I’d have added a lot more. Tell us how it smelt. What was in the fridge and cupboards (not just “insufficient food”) tell us that there was a bottle of ketchup and wine./4
Tell us what the floor was dirty with. Not just the place was messy, but whether it was food or faeces or both. Tell us that three kids shared two bunk beds with no sheets. Tell us if there were toys in the bedroom or anywhere. Tell us what the children’s reaction was /5
Did they care you were there or just kept on what they were doing? The latter is a big red flag for us. Tell us what was said in their presence. If you find drug paraphernalia describe it! I’ve lost that line from my threshold more than once because it’s not specific enough/6
If it was rizlas and a grinder say so. If it was a crack pipe or burnt foil, say so. I can do more with that than ‘drug paraphernalia’ than you realise. Tell us if the garden is a health and safety hazard to you, if there isn’t a bag of nappies in the place, if the mattress/7
makes your eyes water, or the bathroom does. How many cats and dogs and lizards are around. Are they looked after? Is it cluttered but clean or cluttered and filthy. Where do the children sleep? Are they in pyjamas at noon or in a buggy at 2am? /8
Are there curtains? I know it’ll take time. I’m genuinely sorry for that. There are other shouts, other statements. You’re being pulled six ways from Sunday.
But please please please don’t think they’re a waste of time. They make the difference. Sometimes my clients get a /8
But please please please don’t think they’re a waste of time. They make the difference. Sometimes my clients get a /8
Snapshot, or lied to, or tidied up in anticipation of their visit. That’s harder to do at midnight on a Saturday.
It’s vital. It won’t get you a result that day or that week. But later I’ll make a disclosure request and have a huge sigh of relief when I can rely on it/end
It’s vital. It won’t get you a result that day or that week. But later I’ll make a disclosure request and have a huge sigh of relief when I can rely on it/end
(When I say I/Us = Local Authority Child Protection Solicitor. My colleagues and I are the ones who run the cases in court)
