Remote Court Hearings during COVID 19 pandemic – part 2- what should I do?

Remote Hearings-the important part: what should I do Remote Hearings During this pandemic crisis, all effective hearings, with the court’s permission are to be held remotely either by telephone phone or video conferencing. No formal application for a remote hearing is required. Prior to the Hearing: Be prepared If you… Continue reading

Remote Court Hearings During COVID 19 Pandemic- part 1

These are unprecedented times, there has been a need for all of us  to adapt to the changing landscape we find ourselves in. This has been equally applicable to the Family Court and the Court of Protection, both changing to accommodate remote hearings relating to children and vulnerable adults. The… Continue reading

Legal briefing on the long awaited guidance on Special Guardianships

children-care-training-kingsley-knight

Positive changes for those involved in undertaking Special Guardianship Orders (SGO) or connected kinship assessments. This legal briefing outlines the changes introduced by the Interim Guidance issued by the Family Justice Council and the interim report of the public working group. Interim Guidance on SGOs In May 2019, The Family… Continue reading

Judge criticises social worker for poor case records

A recent case highlights the importance of social work case records, in which the Judge advised the local authority to undertake training in gathering, preserving and disclosing evidence. Don’t be left vulnerable to the consequences of poor evidence, read the tips provided by Kingsley Knight on the importance of contemporaneous… Continue reading

SGOs: free training to secure better outcomes in court

The use of special guardianship orders (SGOs) have grown rapidly in recent years. However, the amount of time allowed to carry out thorough and robust assessments is often limited, particularly when the matter is already in court. At times, this has led to very tragic circumstances such as the death… Continue reading

Free court skills training for time-poor social workers

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reported* an increase in children and adult law applications during 2016. This is likely to be placing even more pressure on social workers because, in addition to more court attendances, you also have greater legal responsibilities in preparation of court documents with shorter timescales. I… Continue reading

Secret recording by parents or service users, should I be worried?

This question was raised at a recent training event I was delivering on Law for Social Workers. It resulted in an interesting discussion, which I considered would benefit other social care professionals.  What is the problem? These days anyone with a smartphone can covertly record. The recording itself may not… Continue reading

Get ahead with the legal update on the Children and Social Work Act

Children Social Work Bill

Children and Social Work Act 2017 The government’s intention with this legislation was to overhaul social work. Read on to see what this means for frontline workers, vulnerable children and care leavers. There were mixed views as to whether this legislation once passed did result in the social work profession’s… Continue reading