Legal Blogs
Seusspicious minds – family lawyer.
Pink Tape – family barrister.
Family Lore – musings from an English family lawyer.
Parents Accused – family solicitor offering help and advice to parents involved in cases of non-accidental injury.
Encyclopaedia on Family and the Law – interesting articles and informative content on every aspect of family law in the UK.
UK Human Rights Blog – edited by barristers from 1 Crown Office Row.
Head of Legal – comment on public law and human rights issues.
Strasbourg Observers – based at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University in Belgium. Aims to bring new judgments of the European Court of Human Rights to the attention of interested scholars, practitioners and students.
The Transparency Project – The aim of the project is to shed some light on the workings of the Family Courts, to make the process and the cases understandable for people without law degrees.
Mental Health Issues
Not So Big Society – blog by a nurse therapist working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Relief from anxiety – a blog by Amy, aged 18, about her experiences of anxiety.
Dealing with anxiety – about anxiety and depression.
Social Work
How not to do social work – thoughts from an experienced social worker.
The Barefoot Social Worker – social work from a libertarian perspective.
Families and Parents
Birthmum – blog from a parent whose three children were adopted
Holes in the Wall – documenting parent abuse; defined as any harmful act by a teenage child, whether physical, psychological or financial, which is intended to gain power and control over a parent or carer.
Nick King’s blog – adoptive parent.
The misadventures of an adoptive dad – a blog from Al, a dad, who through a series of decisions and choices allied to circumstances and opportunities is the father to six children.
Surviving Safeguarding – a mother who has been through the process and kept her child
No star to guide me – a site looking at how people give advice on social media – has very comprehensive resources page for help and advice about a variety of issues.
Children
A care leaver’s blog – about her experiences in care and beyond.
Policy Issues
A Kind of Trouble – exploring the government’s Troubled Families Programme, looking at how the key workers are enacting the troubled families agenda and if/how they are negotiating it and/or resisting it.
Covert recording legal and permissable http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed160225
Update
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/12/17/parents-record-child-protection-meetings-social-workers-need-know/
To readers,
Here is a quote from an anonymous parent on another forum about recording meetings etc. Is it right ? Can we tape meetings without informing the other participants or not? All replies welcome.
QUOTE: You have the right to record them without even informing them or asking their permission! They are public servants and Munby LJ himself set this precedent in re: Stafford: Public servants have no expectation of privacy in their work and even less so than any other individual walking down the public highway shouting their business) :UNQUOTE
The Transparency Project produced full guidance on the issue of recording meetings with social workers in December 2015http://www.transparencyproject.org.uk/press/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Whymightparentswanttorecordmeetingsv2jan16.pdf
Thank you for the reference, Sarah. The Transparency project has obviously done good work on the issue.
The only useful points which i feel a parent might add of interest to readers are:-
a) If a respondent wishes to record meetings etc. in order to prove malpractice,threats,coercion,biased opinions,lack of fair discussion et al on the part of professionals then recording will be of limited value unless done covertly. Obviously ,they will moderate what they say but may not stop conducting your case incorrectly.
b) Do not overlook that devices are also available which record telephone calls.
c) The transparency project paper mentions that a Judge may find recordings of little value and might even refuse to listen should they be patchy and hard to hear. Excellent equipment guaranteed to make fine quality recordings has long been used in the security industry in industrial espionage;, listening in devices have been planted in staff rooms by bosses etc. for many years. If you are serious about recording ,i advise you to obtain the best quality you can afford.Use the internet in this respect because there are few high street stores active in this particular market.
d) I suggest ‘recorders’ pay great attention to the dating of recordings,times etc.
P.S.
I don’t think it will ever be useful indeed i think it dangerous to put overt or covert recordings out on to the social media. Apart from the fact that any parent doing so will lay themselves open to legal action, imprisonment etc., i think it will be unethical. Keep the recordings between yourself,other parties and the Court itself.Let the Court decide what can be published. Protect your children,youselves and Social Workers from castigation ,attack,trolling and abuse.
Hi. I am the grandmother of 2 boys who were taken from my home. My daughter(their mother) is an alcoholic. It got very severe. DCFS was involved and there were many phone calls from my neighbors to DCFS. Any way my niece volunteered to take the boys however she has had 2 suicide attempts and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia during the attempts. She was hospitalized. My daughter is completing her programs successfully and has supervised visits. My niece has blocked me from seeing my grandsons basically. My niece has also begun a relationship with the youngest boy’s father and although he is now not allowed to go back to my niece’s house, they find other ways to “get together.” I am fearful that my daughter will lose custody based on the ongoing deceit by my niece who now seems to be sabotaging the initial agreement.
The six key principles of safeguarding are
– to empower individuals
– protect their rights and promote their welfare
– to enable them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect
– to provide support and protection for vulnerable adults
– to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people
– to work in partnership with others
These principles underpin all safeguarding work and should be at the forefront of everything we do to keep people safe. They provide a framework for decision making and help us to focus on what is important – the individual’s needs and experiences.
Read another amazing blog: https://lead-academy.org/what-are-the-6-key-principles-of-safeguarding
Important some points for Child Protection & Safeguarding :-
Child protection means keeping kids safe from harm.
Safeguarding involves preventing abuse and neglect.
Adults should watch out for signs of danger.
Children must feel safe to talk about any worries.
It’s important to teach kids about their rights and boundaries.
Everyone has a role in protecting children.