The Working With Parents programme explored how adult social workers recognise that a parent has a learning disability. The research looked at engagement with parents, local policies or protocols and how parents experience working with adult social workers.
Parents with learning disabilities are over-represented in the child protection system and are disproportionately more likely to have their children removed from their care.
This Working With Parents programme research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Social Care Research. It explored:
- How adult social workers recognise that a parent has a learning disability.
- How they engage with these parents.
- Whether this engagement was guided by any local policies or protocols.
- How parents experience working with adult social workers.
Use resources to explore these areas and provide support for local protocols.
How do adult services engage with parents with learning disabilities?
A summary of a research project that involved online interviews with local authority managers and commissioners, online focus groups with social workers, and interviews with parents with learning disabilities.
Working with parents
These resources aim to support local authorities when developing local policies and protocols around working with parents with a learning disability or learning difficulty. The example protocol should be read in alongside the other supporting documents - Underlying Core Concepts and Key Contextual issues - and with the statutory guidance - Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023.
Read the key contextual issues briefing
Read the underlying core concepts
Supporting Disabled Adults in their Parenting Capacity: Bath and North East Somerset
This protocol has been developed by Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council and BANES Clinical Commissioning Group to facilitate joint working arrangements for supporting disabled adults in their parenting capacity.
It is a useful resource for anyone developing a local joint working protocol to support this area of practice.