Decision Report 202210917

Summary

C complained that social work did not adequately safeguard their child (A) when they disclosed that they had been a victim of assault. C also complained that they were not informed of the incident. The council considered that appropriate support had been offered to A.

We took independent advice from a social work adviser. We reviewed the relevant case records and the council’s child protection procedures. We found that the council failed to meet their obligations and take the appropriate action in response to the disclosures made by A. We found that there was sufficient concern about A’s ability to maintain their wellbeing and that social work should have instigated their child protection procedures. We also found that there was insufficient recording within the case records of a clear plan and rationale to explain decision making. As such, we upheld the complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to C for failing to meet their obligations and correctly apply their child protection procedures in response to the disclosure made by A. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/information-leaflets

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• Case records should include details of discussions held with relevant persons, rationale for any decision making, and evidence of risk assessments, where appropriate.
• Staff should be familiar with the requirements of the council’s child protection procedures and have a clear understanding of when an Inter-agency Referral Discussion should be held.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.