Social Work Practice: Section 47

Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 is an important tool for identifying children at risk of significant harm but the role of the social worker is often misunderstood. This is a personal reflection on my own experience of this role - with suggestions about how practice could be improved.

The section 47 enquiry marks a clear shift away from informal, family support work towards formal child protection work. It is the responsibility of managers to make the decision to start a section 47 enquiry/core assessment. The role of the social worker is to conduct an interview with the family in a way which leads to constructive discussion with the parents about the apparent concerns. It is essential that this interview is handled in a manner which opens up the possibility of developing a collaborative relationship between the social worker and family but does not minimise the seriousness of any possible risks to children.

During my career as a children's social worker I found the section 47 interview to be one of the most difficult areas of my work. This was not simply due to my anxiety about possible blind spots but the realization that, whatever action was subsequently taken, there would always be someone who thought it was wrong. Obviously, this is one of the occupational hazards of those working in child protection but my own feelings of self-doubt meant that I was never completely confident that my professional judgement would be reliable.

While some social workers enjoy the uncertainty and excitement offered by section 47s I was not one of those. It was often quite challenging having to deal with the chaotic, real-life dramas that sometimes confronted me; I preferred working in a planned way. On the other hand I was pleasantly surprised to find most parents were co-operative and on occasions there were satisfactions in being able to use the sense of crisis to help the family accept ongoing support.

The unpredictable nature of a section 47 visit is obvious. Social workers could be dealing with a situation which later turns into a national scandal - or alternatively one where the concerns are quickly recognised as ones that do not appear to be anything very serious. The families they visit could be from any social class or ethnic background and English may not be their first language. There is always the possibility that they will find themselves in face-to-face contact with a devious and manipulative abuser, a stressed out parent, a watchful and wary child, or a troubled and secretive teenager; and with domestic violence being a factor in many cases there may be concerns about the safety of social workers.

It is important to understand that there is a difference between a joint investigation with the police and the single agency investigation by children's services. Social workers work with the police in the case of a criminal investigation but their own duties are much wider than this. This discussion is essentially about the section 47 enquiry as a single agency social work investigation.

Social workers have a statutory duty to lead assessments under section 47. In order to make clear that this type of assessment is a statutory duty I have chosen to refer to it as a 'section 47 interview'. However, it also includes the 'core assessment' and so the outcome should be a comprehensive assessment of the child’s needs, as well as the gathering of information about any possible harm that the child may be at risk of within the family.

Formal guidance states that a section 47 interview must be carried out by an experienced and appropriately trained social worker. This implies that there is something distinctive about social work - the professional training and skills - that equips social workers for this particular role. However, this is not apparent in the practice guidance - which merely emphasises the process of 'doing' an assessment without emphasising the professional skills required in conducting an investigation in a way that does not contaminate evidence that may be needed for legal purposes. Current procedures seem to convey the idea that a standardised response is all that is required. This can easily give rise to a check-list and tick-box mind-set and a depersonalised style of relating to the family. It is essential that the social worker has the necessary training and skills for the investigative role. This means being alert to the more subtle aspects of behaviour and communication within the family, showing 'respectful curiosity' about what has actually happened to the child and being interested in gathering any relevant information about the family circumstances.

The work usually starts with a visit to the family and the social worker may have to say who they are and give a brief explanation of their reason for wanting to talk to the family in private. Sometimes an assessment has already been started and the social worker is known to the family. However, it should always be clear that the work has changed into a formal investigation and that the social worker wants to raise particular concerns with the parents and possibly say things to them that may be difficult for them to hear. It is good practice to seek their permission to see the child alone, unless the child is very young.

The precipitating factor which triggers a section 47 interview may be a single incident or allegation and, if so, this will be the focus of discussion initially. The social worker may have to say that arrangements should be made immediately for the child to be medically examined. The aim will be to widen the discussion to gain a better understanding of the family circumstances and to obtain information that is normally required for a core assessment - although this task may prove difficult to carry out with parents who are resistant to social work involvement. Fine judgements have to made about whether to adopt a more probing style of working, or to respect parents' privacy. Social workers need to use their authority with a light touch and be given the freedom to work flexibly and creatively while never losing sight of the investigative role.

In recent years some parents have complained about the lack of clarity about whether a section 47 has been carried out on them or not. This underlines the importance of managers keeping contemporaneous records of the decision to start a section 47, the reasons for it and the outcome.

There is only so far that social workers can go in minimising the stress caused by a section 47 interview. Social workers must be comfortable with the authority they carry and help parents understand what is happening without alarming them unduly. As the section 47 is the gateway to child protection services it is inevitable that parents will be defensive. They often fear that any signs of their not coping may be used by social workers as evidence against them and their child will be removed. The imbalance of power between the social worker and parents needs to be handled very carefully.

Social workers have a statutory duty to investigate when the threshold of 'reasonable cause to suspect actual or likely significant harm' has been met. When the section 47 enquiries have been completed managers should be in a position to reach a clear view on what happened, whether concerns indicate a serious risk and how to proceed. Very often the factors triggering the section 47 visit arise out of a combination of factors causing stress within the family. Sometimes it emerges that the child was clearly at risk of significant harm but this was not deliberate or intentional. Parents usually recognise that there will be consequences and the sense of crisis from the investigation may provide the opportunity for further intervention that sends a signal that a particular aspect of parenting has been unsatisfactory and parents need help, as well as controls.

The current arrangements for carrying section 47 interviews are so dysfunctional that radical change is urgently needed. There is an inherent contradiction in the way that an enquiry into 'risk of significant harm' sometimes takes many weeks to complete. The credibility of social work 'concerns' are lost if there is a complete lack of urgency in investigating these. It is also bad practice to keep parents waiting for the outcome of an assessment/investigation and prolonging their anxieties.

It is also important that social workers show a commitment to respecting parents' rights and getting advocacy for parents, if this is available. Social workers should always keep abreast of the relevant guidance and understand the possibility that evidence gathered during the interview may later be presented in court. Above all this work requires people of the right calibre to make fine judgements about risk, particularly as the outcome of a section 47 enquiry may be the use of more coercive measures.

This is a complex and highly skilled area of work. The qualities of sound judgement, wisdom and tact in the social worker are profoundly important in view of the risks to children if mistakes are made. On occasions, information obtained by social workers may show the need for further forensic work to be carried out in collaboration with the police.

Tighter regulation of social workers with section 47 duties may be necessary to ensure that this work is only carried out by social workers with the necessary training and skills in striking the right balance between child protection and family support. At present the government is consulting on the introduction of an 'Approved Child and Family Practitioner' status. I support this idea and suggest that only social workers accredited with this status should be permitted to carry out section 47 duties.

Hilary Searing


Further Reading

Good Practice In Section 47 Enquiries by Julie Archer (2016), in Risk in Child Protection, London: Jessica Kingsley, pp 285-308. A useful guide to good practice for social workers and their managers.

Police and Single Agency Child Protection Section 47 Enquiries - Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Children Board (pdf file)


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