There is no manual on how to be the “perfect parent” and you simply need to be “good enough” to keep your child or baby safe. Sadly, that is not always the case, and many children are at risk of harm due to poor or neglectful parenting.
When social care become involved with a family, the priority is to keep the family together and quite often parents are asked to engage in a parenting assessment. This will evidence what the parents are good at, and what they may be struggling with.
The assessment may be done at an early help stage of social care involvement, pre-proceedings and during court proceedings.
What is a Parenting Assessment?
This is a piece of work carried out by social care to consider the skills, knowledge, and ability of a parent to meet their child’s needs. The assessment provides evidence of a parent’s ability to safely care for their child.
The assessment can last up to 12 weeks depending on the case and would consider various topics including providing basic care for a child, home conditions, risk, children’s first aid and relationships- just to name a few!
The assessment may be carried out by a social worker and will be completed in various formats. If a parent has learning disabilities or additional needs, a “ParentAssess” style assessment may be recommended.
ParentAssess
ParentAsess style assessments are frequently being used in place of PAMS assessments when a parent has additional needs or a learning disability.
ParentAssess uses a traffic light system (red, amber & green) to explain and answer questions.
The assessment will set out: -
• Things that are done well;
• Things that are a concern or need checking;
• Significant concerns.
The aim of the assessment is to help parents be the best parent, they can be. The social worker will use different techniques including visual cards, pictures and video clips and will gather information from the parent so they can give recommendations on how the parent can safely care for their child.
The important thing is that parents engage in the assessment and understand what is being asked. Parent should not be afraid to ask questions and work openly and honestly with social care.
How Can Timms Help?
If you are a parent with social care involvement and would like some advice, please contact myself or one of the team on freephone 0800 011 6666 or via email at legal@timms-law.com.
