Frequently Asked Questions by Parents:

We understand that support and interventions can make parents and family's anxious. We also understand that they will be given lots of information from lots of different people, some of which will make parents more anxious.  So we thought it would help to dispel the myths to support you and so you know what to expect. 

What is the assessment like?

We understand that having an assessment can be stressful for parents, but we will work with you respectfully and listen to what you say. We will meet with you, observe you with your child, and talk to other people who are key to your support network. We want to know what you do well and what challenges you face. We will ask about your life and past to understand you better. It is important to help us to understand your and your child's needs. The assessment is colour-coded as Red, Amber, or Green, and there's time for Reds or Ambers to improve, so please do not worry.

 

Is it going to be a test?

We do not expect parents to know everything and there are no right or wrong answers. The assessment explores how you parent and if can you change the things that are worrying professionals. 

We will talk to your support network and other professionals if needed to ensure that we cross-reference the information to give us a better picture of what is happening. 

We will carry out an observation of you with your child together. We will also arrange to see your child separately so we can identify what is working well and what are the worries. 

Each sept of the assessment we will be clear on the plan and when worries arise, there should not be any surprises at the end of the assessment when we share this with you. 

What if I mess up?

If something happens during the assessment that makes us worry, we will talk to you about this. We understand people make mistakes, but it is how we learn from them is very important and part of parenting. 

At the end of the assessment will someone go through it with me and will I get my own copy?

At the end of the assessment, we will gather up all the information and we will write the assessment. We will share a shorter and easy-to-read assessment with you and talk you through it to make sure that you understand what is being said. 

The assessment will be colour-coded Green, Amber and Red. It works like a traffic light system, Green is where things are working well, and Amber is where improvements can be made. Red is where the worries are, in the report, it will be clear what needs to change.

The main assessment will be shared with your child's social worker and legal professionals if they are involved. Both assessments will explain what you did well, where the worries are and what we are going to tell the court. 

 

What happens next?

The reports are shared with your child's social worker and if legal are involved we will share the report with them. 

Your solicitor or barrister's job is to challenge the report and the decision of the report. 

It is important to remember that the Judge will read and listen to everyone's evidence and then make a decision. 

How do we carry out the assessment?

In the first week we will contact the parent and arrange to meet with them to explain the process of the assessment. We will complete the strengths and concerns with the parents to gain their understanding what the strengths and worries are. 

The second week we will read the court bundle/ files, identifying where the strengths and worries are and sharing this with the parent.  We will work with the parents to work out what needs to be the focus of the assessment.  If the parents needs additional support from services, we will share this with the child's social worker.  We will explore with the parent to find out a more about their life.  We will start to complete the knowledge and confidence booklet with the parent to inform the assessment. 

Weeks 3-7 (or 10) we will continue with the knowledge and confidence booklet with the parent.  explore with the parent the risks and obstacles to their parenting, their ability to adapt and change. we will continue to explore parents past experiences, relationships with others and their support network. We will use a variety of tools to support the parents understanding and engagement. 

The final week, we will complete the report after gathering all the evidence to compile the report, with the analysis. The main report  will be shared with the child's social worker and their legal team if necessary. A short and easy to read assessment report will be given and shared with the parent.  

Observations & Feedback

We carry out observation of the parent and child in weeks 3-7 and provide feedback to the parent and social worker during this period. At times as we will make a video recording of the session so we can look back through it with the parent.  This is done to share and discuss with the parent what went well and where the worries are. 

Child Wishes and Feelings

When assessing a child, it’s crucial to listen to what they have to say. Understanding how they feel about their surroundings, relationships, and experiences can give valuable insight into what they need and how they feel about home, family, friends, school. Hearing their perspective not only makes them feel heard but also helps ensure decisions made are right for their well-being, feeling safe,  care and growth. This helps paint a clearer picture of the child’s situation, making it easier to spot patterns, understand behaviours, and find ways to help them thrive.

We achieve this in a variety of tools and direct work with the child, this depends on their age, abilities and preferred methods of communications.