Help us call for support-led social care assessments
3 mins read
Thursday 3 September 2026
This advice applies in England only.
The government is consulting on changes to Working Together to Safeguard Children, the statutory guidance that helps shape the way children’s social care works in England.
The consultation closes at midnight on Friday 4 September.
We want as many parent carers as possible to tell the government to include a support-led assessment for disabled children and their families.
Too often, parents approach social care because they need practical help, such as short breaks, personal care, equipment or support for their child to take part in activities. Instead, they find themselves going through stressful assessments focused on parenting and safeguarding instead. This is a central concern in Contact’s response to the consultation [.docx].
What Contact is calling for
Contact wants the new guidance to introduce a clear, support-led assessment route for disabled children and their families where there are no concerns about abuse or neglect.
This would mean that when a family asks for help, the starting point should be: what support does this child and family need?
Where there are genuine safeguarding concerns, normal child protection procedures would still apply.
Tips for responding
You don’t need to answer every consultation question. If you’re short of time, tell the government about your own experience and the changes you want to see.
You could say:
- Whether asking children’s social care for help felt supportive or more like an investigation.
- Whether you felt listened to about what your child and family actually needed.
- What practical support would have helped – for example short breaks, personal care, equipment or a support worker.
- That you want a support-led assessment where there are no safeguarding concerns.
- Why families need to feel safe asking for help before they reach crisis point.
This matters because if families fear that asking for help will lead to intrusive safeguarding intervention, they may put off seeking support until things become much more difficult.
How to respond
You can respond using the Government’s online consultation form.
You can also email your response to [email protected].
If you use the online form, questions 8, 9, 13 and 41 are particularly relevant to disabled children and their families. These are also the questions Contact has responded to.
Only share information you are comfortable including in a government consultation.
Short for time? Copy and adapt our template
I am a parent carer of a disabled child. Families like mine should be able to ask children’s social care for practical help without automatically being treated as a safeguarding concern.
Where there are no concerns about abuse or neglect, families should have a support-led assessment that focuses on what help their disabled child and family need.
[You could briefly add your own experience here – what happened when you asked for help and what you would like to have happened instead.]
Safeguarding procedures should still apply where there are genuine concerns. But families asking for help should be supported, not made to feel they are under investigation. This would help families get support earlier and build trust in children’s social care.
Please respond by midnight on Friday 4 September and help make sure families’ voices are heard.