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Local authority social work evidence template (Final statement)
In the Family Court sitting at Coventry
In the matter of The Children Act 1989
& The Adoption & Children Act 2002
Everything shown in red italics is a guidance note. It should be removed before sending this statement to legal Delete any unused rows and boxes (or add if needed)
The Children
Name Gender Date of Birth With whom is the child living?If living with a parent or connected
person then give the name and
relationship to the child (e.g.
Lucrezia Borgia – Maternal
Grandmother).
If living with a foster carer then just
put “Local Authority Foster Carer”.
Do not put name of carer.
Local Authority and Social Worker Details
Case Number: This will be on the court orders.
Filed by: Coventry City Council (Applicant)
Statement Number eg 1st, 2nd, 3rd This is the number of statements that YOU have
done. It is not the number of statements done by Social Care.
Name of Social
Worker:
Your name.
Qualifications of Social
Worker:
Your qualifications
Experience of Social
Worker:
Primarily your experience as a Social Worker. However, should
include previous employment if relevant to this case (e.g. working
This document is confidential and contains sensitive information. It should not be disclosed without permission of the court. Data protection standards must always be complied with
Page 1
as CPN, teacher, probation officer etc)
Office Address of
Social Worker:
Your office address
HCPC Registration
Number:
Your HCPC Registration Number
Date signed Complete when signing. It looks dreadful if the date on this page
and on the final page are not the same.
2
1. Case details
1.1 Family composition
Include family members and relationships.
Please set out the family members' full names, their dates of birth and their current addresses.
Where an address must be kept confidential put “Confidential”.
Name Relationship to Child DOB AddressPlease specify which
child the relationship is
with (e.g. “Father of
Hercules”; “Paternal
Aunt to Hippolyta”)
The Mother has Parental Responsibility for all the children.
The other person with Parental Responsibility for name of child is names of persons with
parental responsibility.
2. Update to the Chronology
This should be limited to the events occurring since the last Social Worker Statement.
2.1 ChronologyThis deals with things that have already happened.
Date Incidents or sequence of incidents relevant to the child’s welfare
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2.2 The Children’s TimetableImportant word here is “pending”. This section sets out future events that will be important to
the child and/or the case. The original SWET refers to the child starting a new school. But can
also include events like operations, sentencing date for a parent, due date for birth of a new
sibling etc. Do not strain for pending events. If nothing of importance due within timescale of
case then just put that there are no significant pending events that the local authority is aware
of.
Date Significant pending events relevant for the children (e.g. starting a new school)
3. Welfare Checklist from Children Act 1989
In completing the checklist below I have borne in mind that the welfare of each of the children
shall be the court’s paramount consideration.
Even if the plan is adoption you still have to complete the 1989 checklist as well as the 2002
checklist. The best way to complete the checklist is to remember the basic advice given
regarding answering exam questions – answer the question that is being asked. Do not
regurgitate random things that you know about the subject.
For the sections regarding the children please use a separate subheading for each child to
keep things clear. For example: -
Hercules
Hercules is …………………….
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Hippolyta
Hippolyta is …………….……………………..
3.1 the ascertainable wishes and feelings of each of the children concerned (considered in the light of his age and understanding);
In each sub-section you should put the wishes and feelings of that particular child.
If the child is under a year old this section should simply say “[name] is too young to
express her wishes and feelings.” Nothing else.
This section should not contain filler such as “It is reasonable to assume that [name]
would wish to live in a safe, secure and nurturing environment in which his basic
care and emotional needs are consistently met and whereby is not exposed to
conflict or ongoing harm”. To the court this is just unhelpful waffle. To the advocate
for the parent it is an invitation to ask you to consider the possibility that at different
stages of his life the child may have different views and that in some of those stages
the child might say that wanting to live with birth parents (even if birth parents were
not capable of providing good enough care).
To a large extent this is a factual section. It should set out what was said or
observed and when it was said or observed and by whom it was heard or observed.
For instance: -
“On 12 December 2016 the child told me that she did not wish to live with her
mother, Medea, as her mother planned to kill her. On 31 December 2016 the female
foster carer told me that the child often said that her mother wished to kill her and
that she did not wish to live with her mother.”
Where you rely on your Social Work training and experience is in dealing with the
phrase “considered in the light of his age and understanding”. Where a 5 year old
has repeatedly said that she wants to live with her mother you might for instance
comment that this is what you would expect of a child of that age.
Name of First Child
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Name of Second Child
3.2 The physical, emotional and educational needs of each of the children;
This is a completely factual section. By the time of writing this statement you should
know precisely what the physical, emotional and educational needs of each child are
and should set these out under each subsection.
This section does NOT set out how the needs are to be met.
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
3.3 the likely effect on each of the children of any change in his/her
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circumstances;
Legal Services often sees here just the likely effects of the change in circumstances
that the Local Authority is recommending. This is wrong.
The changes in circumstances that could take place links with section 4 below. It
needs to be the changes that the court could realistically order. Thus if the Local
Authority is recommending a move of child from parent to foster care a Care Order
can be made and the effects of that change have to be considered. If the Local
Authority is recommending adoption then the effects of the move from foster care to
adoptive parents also need to be considered. If Child is in foster care then effects of
move from foster care to parents need to be considered.
You should set out the positive effects as well as negative effects.
You should not set out theoretical effects of a move to an as yet unidentified and
unassessed connected person.
If the siblings may have to be separated as the result of a particular move you
should make sure you set out the effects of potential separation from siblings on that
particular child.
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
3.4 His/her age, sex, background and any characteristics of him/her which the
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court considers relevant;
In each sub-section the age, sex and background is entirely factual. For instance
“Hercules is a 6 year old boy of White British origin from an English speaking
background. Neither of his parents follow a religious path.”
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
3.5 Any harm which he/she has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
Threshold criteria should have been established by the time you write this statement
and in any event deals with SIGNIFICANT harm (speak to your case holder in legal
services).
This section deals with “harm” which is much wider than “significant harm”.
This section is primarily factual. For instance “The child has not attended school for
3 weeks” and “The new partner of Mother is a convicted paedophile. Mother was
told of his convictions on [list dates]. She says he was wrongly convicted and
refuses to separate from him.”
For many facts the “harm” will be obvious and need not be spelt out. In the 2
examples set out above the harm suffered by missing school is obvious and the
likely harm that will be suffered as a result of a paedophile living in the home is also
obvious.
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For some facts you will need to set out why it has either caused harm or is likely to
cause harm. For instance “On 02 March 2017 the Health Visitor told the Mother that
she should not prop feed the baby. The Health Visitor told her why. On 06 March
2017 the Mother prop fed the baby.” You will then need to explain why prop feeding
is a risk of harm.
As this is the final statement this section will deal a lot with future harm - the harm
that the child “… is at risk of suffering”. For example if the child is still in care of
parent then will need to set out the continued harm that is at risk of suffering. If the
child is in foster care then will need to set out the fresh harm that will be at risk of
suffering if return to care of parent. Unavoidably in a final statement this section will
have to repeat points that will also be made in section 3.3 (likely effect on him of any
change in his circumstances) and section 3.6 (how capable each of his parents, and
any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant,
is of meeting his needs).
3.6 How capable each of his/her parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting his needs;
Mother
Give a brief pen picture of the Mother (eg “Medea is 25 years old of White
British origin from an English speaking background. She says she is a Muslim
but she is not observant (she cannot say which branch of Islam she follows
and cannot remember when she last attended a mosque). She has a Low
Average IQ but does not have a learning disability (Cognitive functioning
assessment dated 31 December 2016). She has never held a job and is
dependent on welfare benefits. Hercules is her third child. Her first 2 children
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were removed by Care Orders. She lives with the father but says that she is
not in a relationship.”)
Please state what assessments have been done and their outcome. This will
not just be the assessments done within the proceedings. It includes any
assessments done in previous proceedings, any Judgements given in
previous proceedings and any assessments done in pre-proceedings.
Then set out her parenting capacity as a SOLE parent and whether, or not,
she can meet the needs of all of the children (it is this section that considers
how the needs of each of the children can be met). If she cannot meet the
needs of all of the children could she meet the needs of just one child and if
so which one? Could she meet the needs of two of the children and if so
which two?
Then consider whether she could manage as a sole parent with support from
Local Authority and other professionals (the case law requires the local
authority to consider this). ). It is perfectly okay to say that the level of support
needed would be such as to amount to full-time alternative carers and thus
not feasible.
If another person (father, grandmother, sister etc) is being proposed as a joint
carer set out whether that person and mother together will be better or worse
than mother as a sole carer.
Finally have to consider whether the mother and other joint carer could
manage as joint carers with support from Local Authority and other
professionals (the case law requires the local authority to consider this). Once
again it is perfectly okay to say that the level of support needed would be
such as to amount to full-time alternative carers and thus not feasible.
Father of [insert names of which children he is father of]
If Father is putting himself forward as a sole or joint carer then have to consider as
for Mother above. This includes whether he could manage with “support”.
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If Father is not putting himself forward as a carer then still have to consider his
capability to meet the needs of the child during contact (supervised or unsupervised;
duration etc).
Father of [insert names of which children he is father of]
If Father is putting himself forward as a sole or joint carer then have to consider as
for Mother above. This includes whether he could manage with “support”.
If Father is not putting himself forward as a carer then still have to consider his
capability to meet the needs of the child during contact (supervised or unsupervised;
duration etc).
Connected Person
With any luck you should be able to complete most of this section by cutting and
pasting contents of section 13 of most recent case management order. In any event
who has been nominated, who has been ruled out and who has been recommended
as a suitable alternative carer.
If a full assessment has been done it should have considered whether, or not, the
Connected Person could manage with support. Sadly they often do not so you must
also consider whether, or not, the Connected Person could manage “with support”
and if so what that support would need to be. It is perfectly okay to say that the level
of support needed would be such as to amount to full-time alternative carers and
thus not feasible.
3.7 The range of powers available to the court under this Act in the proceedings in question;
The orders that the court can make for each of the children are as follows:
No Order
A Family Assistance Order
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A Child Arrangements Order for who the child should live with
A Special Guardianship Order (can only be made if there has been a full SGO
assessment of a connected person – whether negative or positive. If there
has not been a full SGO assessment then this option should be deleted).
A Supervision Order
A Care Order
An order regarding Contact (under s8 or s34 dependent on what orders are
made regarding who the child should live with).
If adoption is the plan and you are seeking a Placement Order then you will have to
complete the 2002 checklist. Making a Placement Order is not a power available
under the Children Act 1989.
4. Welfare Checklist from Adoption and Children Act 2002You only have to complete this checklist for those children for whom the plan is adoption. The
best way to complete the checklist is to remember the basic advice given regarded exam
questions – answer the question that is being asked. If the plan is not adoption for any of the
children then this section should be deleted and the following sections renumbered
accordingly.
In completing the checklist below I have borne in mind that the paramount consideration of the
court or adoption agency must be the welfare of each of the children throughout his/her life.
4.1 the ascertainable wishes and feelings of each of the children regarding the decision (considered in the light of the age and understanding of each child);
This is not exactly as the same as the corresponding section of the 1989 checklist
and so your answer should not be exactly the same. The difference is that you are
considering the wishes and feelings of the child regarding the decision.
In each sub-section you should put the wishes and feelings of that particular child.
If the child is under a year old this section should simply say “[name] is too young to
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express her wishes and feelings.” Nothing else.
Sub-sections should not contain filler such as “It is reasonable to assume that
[name] would wish to live in a safe, secure and nurturing environment in which his
basic care and emotional needs are consistently met and whereby is not exposed to
conflict or ongoing harm”. To the court this is just unhelpful waffle. To the advocate
for the parent it is an invitation to ask you to consider the possibility that at different
stages of his life the child may have different views and that in some of those stages
the child might say that wanting to live with birth parents (even if birth parents were
not capable of providing good enough care).
To a large extent this is a factual section. It should set out what was said or
observed and when it was said or observed and by whom it was heard or observed.
For instance: -
“On 12 December 2016 the child told me that she did not wish to live with her
mother, Medea, as her mother planned to kill her. On 31 December 2016 the female
foster carer told me that the child often said that her mother wished to kill her and
that she did not wish to live with her mother.”
Where you rely on your Social Work training and experience is in dealing with the
phrase “considered in the light of his age and understanding”. Where a 5 year old
has repeatedly said that she wants to live with her mother you might for instance
comment that this is what you would expect of a child of that age.
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
13
4.2 The particular needs of each child;
This is not exactly as the same as the corresponding section of the 1989 checklist
and so your answer should not be exactly the same. The difference is that the 1989
checklist refers to “physical, emotional and educational needs” whilst the 2002
checklist refers to “particular needs” and has to be answered in the context of “…the
child’s welfare throughout his life”.
In each sub-section you should put the particular needs of that child.
This is a completely factual section. By the time of writing this statement you should
know precisely what the particular needs of each child are.
This section does NOT set out how the needs are to be met.
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
4.3 the likely effect on each child (throughout his/her life) of having ceased to be a member of the original family and become an adopted person;
In each sub-section you should consider the likely effect on that particular child.
The positive effects as well as the negative effects. Do not forget that in the context
of recommending adoption ceasing to be a member of the original family is a
positive effect. Loss of contact with the original family is really only a theoretical
negative. Do not forget to address the issue of potentially losing contact with
14
siblings.
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
4.4 The age, sex and background of each of the children and any of the characteristics of each of the children which the court or agency considers relevant;
In each sub-section the age, sex and background is entirely factual. For instance
“Hercules is a 6 year old boy of White British origin from an English speaking
background. Neither of his parents follow a religious path.”
Broadly this should be the same as the 1989 checklist. It is possible that there could
be a characteristic of a child that would be relevant to this checklist but not the 1989
but Legal Services cannot think of any.
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
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4.5 Any harm (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989) which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
In each sub-section you should put the harm suffered, or at risk of suffering, by that
particular child.
Section 31(9) Children Act 1989 says that “harm” means ill-treatment or the
impairment of health or development including, for example, impairment suffered
from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another;” and goes on to say that -
“development” means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural
development;
“health” means physical or mental health; and
“ill-treatment” includes sexual abuse and forms of ill-treatment which are not
physical”
Threshold criteria should have been established by the time you write this statement
and in any event deals with SIGNIFICANT harm (speak to your case holder in legal
services).
Obviously you will be saying that the child is at risk of suffering harm if the child is
returned to the care of the original family. Please be cautious though about claiming
that the child will suffer harm if the Placement Order is not made. After ruling out the
original family as carers the court has to decide between long-term foster care and
adoption. We must not argue that long-term foster care is a risk of suffering harm.
Name of First Child
Name of Second Child
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4.6 The relationship which each of the children has with relatives, and with any other person in relation to whom the court or agency considers the relationship to be relevant, including –
i) The likelihood of any such relationship continuing and the value to each child of its doing so,
ii) The ability and willingness of any of the relatives of each of the children, or of any such person, to provide the child with a secure environment in which the child can develop, and otherwise to meet the child’s needs,
iii) The wishes and feelings of any of the child’s relatives, or of any such person, regarding the child.
Mother
The ability and willingness of the Mother to provide the child with a secure
environment in which the child can develop and otherwise to meet the needs of the
child has been dealt with in section (f) of the Children Act 1989 welfare checklist
above.
Then need to state the wishes and feelings of Mother. This should be factual and
changes in position need to be set out. For instance “On 31 December 2016 the
Mother told me that she would rather her child was dead than adopted. On 01
January 2017 she told me that if the child could not return to her she would want the
child in long-term foster care so that she can continue contact and work in the long-
term towards his return to her care”.
Then need to say what the relationship of the child with the Mother is. Stress that
what is asked for is the relationship that the child has with the Mother. Relationships
are not automatically reciprocal. Just because the Mother says that she loves the
child at each supervised contact does not mean that the child loves or is attached to
the Mother. Do not romanticise.
After you have said what the relationship of the child to the Mother is you must then
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go on to consider: -
The likelihood of the relationship continuing (if the mother has not attended
contact with those of her children previously removed then the likelihood of
the relationship continuing is very small. If Mother has not attended contact
with the child for 2 months then the likelihood of the relationship continuing is
non-existent); and then
The value to the child of continuing the relationship (always bear in mind that
continuing the relationship may not be positive)
Father of ……………
The ability and willingness of the Father to provide the child with a secure
environment in which the child can develop and otherwise to meet the needs of the
child has been dealt with in section (f) of the Children Act 1989 welfare checklist
above.
Then proceed as with Mother.
Father of ……………
The ability and willingness of the Father to provide the child with a secure
environment in which the child can develop and otherwise to meet the needs of the
child has been dealt with in section (f) of the Children Act 1989 welfare checklist
above.
Then proceed as with Mother.
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Connected Person
The ability and willingness of the Connected Persons to provide the child with a
secure environment in which the child can develop and otherwise to meet the needs
of the child has been dealt with in section (f) of the Children Act 1989 welfare
checklist above.
Then for each connected person proceed as with Mother.
Siblings and Half-Siblings
This is too often omitted but it is vital. The court is probably more concerned about
loss of relationship between siblings than with any other category of relative. The
category will include older siblings who have already been adopted (this can be a
strong positive as adoptive parents are more likely to allow direct contact with
another adopted child)
Need to state the wishes and feelings of the sibling (or the carer if sibling is too
young). This should be factual.
Then need to say what the relationship of the child with the sibling is. Stress that
what is asked for is the relationship that the child has with the sibling. Relationships
are not automatically reciprocal.
After you have said what the relationship of the child to the sibling is you must then
go on to consider: -
The likelihood of the relationship continuing; and then
The value to the child of continuing the relationship (always bear in mind that
continuing the relationship may not be positive)
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5. The final S31A care plan for each child – the reasons for the option recommended by the Local Authority and the analysis of the other options available to the court
The case law says that we only need to consider the “realistic options”. The problem is what
does a realistic option mean? There are rare “beauty contest” cases where 2 sets of
connected persons could provide good enough care for the children. In those cases the Local
Authority can name 2 plans as realistic options and recommend one as a preferred option. In
most cases though there will only be one realistic option as far as the local authority is
concerned. But an alternative interpretation of “realistic option” would be the orders that the
court could make in the case. In a case where no connected persons have been nominated
the court cannot make an order placing the child with a connected person. Therefore it is not a
realistic option and does not need to be considered. However, the court can always: -
Decline to make an order (leaving children with mother who has parental responsibility)
Make a Care Order but refuse to make a Placement Order (leaving children in long-
term foster care)
The Local Authority can say that the negative parenting assessment, psychological
assessment and negative ISW assessment of Mother makes her an unrealistic option.
However, the court can still leave the child with her. Is it a realistic option if the court can order
it? Likely that it is. Therefore have decided that best to list the options that the court can make.
But start with the LA recommended option and work downwards. Each option should be set
out as what would happen to the child (e.g. “Child moves to foster care”, “Child remains with
parent”) rather than the order needed to make the option happen (e.g. Interim Care Order, No
Order). In the example below there are 3 options but please feel free to add or delete options.
The legal representatives for parents (and sometimes for the Guardian) will often claim that
parents and/or connected persons could manage “with support”. They rarely define what level
of support would be required. Our view will often be that the level of support that would be
necessary for a person to cope (nanny, housekeeper, chauffeur etc) will be such as to amount
to full-time alternative carers in the home of the parents or connected person. The question of
20
whether, or not, parent or connected person could manage with support (and how much
support that would need to be) should always be dealt with fully in section 3.6 above where
you assess the parenting capacity. In the tables below there should just be a brief entry about
support to emphasise that you have considered it (for example – “Mother could manage
provided she was living with grandmother and getting support from her” or “There is no level of
support that would be sufficient for the child to live safely with maternal grandmother”.
Option Recommended by the Local Authority for name of first child: [please describe option]Factors in favour Factors against
Second option available to the Court for name of first child: [please describe option]Factors in favour Factors against
Third option available to the Court for name of first child: [please describe option]Factors in favour Factors against
Option Recommended by the Local Authority for name of second child: [please describe option]Factors in favour Factors against
Second option available to the Court for name of second child: [please describe option]Factors in favour Factors against
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Third option available to the Court for name of second child: [please describe option]Factors in favour Factors against
6. Contact
Please see the final care plans.
7. Signature
Print full name
Role/position held
The facts in this application are true to the best of my knowledge and belief and the opinions set out are my own.
Signed
Date
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