‘Oh I’m sorry, did I forget to mention you don’t have to agree to this?’ When social workers forget that interventions under ‘Child in Need’ are voluntary

by reporting watch team | Aug 12, 2018 | Comment

The author of this post is a child protection social worker, who writes under a pseudonym, including in the Guardian. There has been significant press coverage of the work of child protection social workers over the last few months. At times I have found this coverage...

Void, Valid and Very Confusing – what is the status of Sharia Marriages in the UK?

by reporting watch team | Aug 3, 2018 | Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

The High Court here in London has recently considered the status of an islamic marriage, that did not comply with all the usual formalities required in England & Wales. It has generated a lot of confused and confusing headlines – the marriage has been...

Just how close was 3-year-old ‘AJS’ to being adopted because of the unlawful immigration detention of her father?

by reporting watch team | Jul 28, 2018 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

Last week BBC News and the Guardian reported the important public interest story of a father’s unlawful immigration detention, that left his three-year-old unnecessarily in care and at risk of a plan for adoption, despite the family court declaring they should...

Hit on the head by an old chestnut

by Polly Morgan | Jul 19, 2018 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

The hoary chestnut, the ‘meal ticket for life’, has fallen from the media and hit us squarely on the head again. This time, the impetus is a Supreme Court case called Mills v Mills. Back when it reached the Court of Appeal, one of my colleagues here on the...

Supreme Court emphasises councils’ duties to inform parents fully about s. 20

by Julie D | Jul 18, 2018 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch, Guidance Note, Notorious

“Parents with parental responsibility always have a qualified right to object and an unqualified right to remove their children at will (subject to any court orders about where the child is to live). Section 20 gives local authorities no compulsory powers over...

Are ‘Thousands misusing abuse orders to get legal aid?’

by reporting watch team | Jul 9, 2018 | Comment, FCReportingWatch

Twitter commentators asked questions last week of a BBC headline: Thousands misusing abuse orders to get legal aid, says parenting charity  And the ‘click-bait’ opening sentence of the story itself: Families Need Fathers says parents are being encouraged...