Can The Social Worker Speak To My Children Alone?

When carrying out any child protection enquiries or assessments, a Social Worker will always want to speak individually to the child or children. They will usually want to see a child without his or her parent present, often in a neutral environment such as school or nursery if possible.

The Social worker should normally ask for permission from a parent first, unless he/she has good reason to believe you may threaten the child or try to make them stay silent, or otherwise compromise their enquiries.

Should I Let The Social Worker Talk To My Children?

My advice is that you should consent, even though you might find this difficult, otherwise it may look as if you are attempting to control what the child says or hide something. If the Social Worker cannot speak to your child without you they may become much more concerned about the child’s welfare and consider an application to the Court.

The Social Worker should consider whether speaking to a child alone may cause distress and may ask another adult, such as a teacher or a friend to be present. When you give permission you may wish to request that another appropriate adult is there.

If the Social Worker speaks to your child without consent from a parent or someone with parent responsibility then he/she will need to be able to justify the reasons for doing so, ultimately to the Court.

Generally I would advise that you co-operate with the Social Worker and allow them to do their job. You should not talk to the children about what they should say to the Social Worker or quiz them afterwards.

What Will The Social Worker Say To My Children?

Social workers are skilled at talking to children, and will do so in an age appropriate way. Usually they will start by introducing themselves and explaining their role. They will probably talk about school, your child’s favourite things to do etc, and then about what the child would do and who they would talk to if they were worried about something.

The social worker will not want to upset your child. You will probably be much more upset at the idea of the Social Worker talking to your child, than the child will be spending a few minutes chatting in a safe environment.

Jo Taylor
September 2020