Supporting parents with additional needs
South West child protection procedures online – children of parents with learning disabilities
If services fail to coordinate effectively, parents with learning disabilities are at risk of falling through the gap between the provision of services for children and the provision of services for adults.
As a result, some parents may miss out on support services that they need in order to prevent problems from arising. Early help and family support services should be considered at an early stage in order to prevent future harm to the child and to promote the child's welfare.
The context in which people with learning disabilities have children is one that has been dominated by the perception of risk and the assumption that their parenting will not be good enough. However, parents with learning disabilities can be 'good enough' parents when appropriate support is put in place.
Adults with learning disabilities may need support to develop the understanding, resources, skills and experience to meet the needs of their children. This will be particularly necessary if they are experiencing additional difficulties such as domestic abuse, poor physical or mental health, having a disabled child, substance misuse, social isolation/ discrimination, poor housing or poverty.
Good practice guidance on working with parents with a learning disability
This good practice guidance is not just for professionals involved in child protection proceedings. It contains useful information for anyone working with a family affected by parental learning disability, irrespective of whether any child protection issues have been formally raised.
Timely application of the principles of this good practice guidance may prevent the need for some families to reach child protection stages at all.
Good practice, employed from the outset of any working relationship with parents with a learning disability, is likely to mean that the legal rights of families under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010 are respected in a broad range of contexts.
See the adult, see the child
The ‘See the Adult, See the Child’ approach adopted in Swindon, also known elsewhere as ‘think family, work family’ recognises that often people live as part of families, who provide support for each another. This approach is important in helping to understand the unique circumstances of an adult or child, and the strengths and resources within the family to provide for their needs, but also identifies where additional support may be required.
This means:
- all staff need to remember that people rarely live in complete isolation and therefore we need to understand the needs of the wider family when we are working with a child, parent or adult
- all staff and services need to talk more, work together better and make sure that all the people working with children, young people and adults in a family, plan and coordinate their work
View the see the adult, see the child practice guidelines.
Right help at the right time threshold guidance
The guidance has been developed by Swindon Safeguarding Partnership and is for everyone who works with children and young people (0-18 years or up to 25 years for care leavers and children/young people with an Education, Health, & Care Plan (EHCP)) and their families in Swindon.
The guidance outlines the way we can all work together, share information, and put the child and their family at the centre of our work, providing effective support to help them solve problems, find solutions and to access the right help at the right time in the right place to prevent escalation of need.
This document sets out four levels of need and provides guidance to help assess a child’s level of need and identify which, if any, services are required. It is not a rigid set of procedures as each child is unique and their individual needs will change over time
