Empowering parents with learning disabilities in the children's social care system

By Savannah Burney, Family Rights Group

Parents with learning difficulties or disabilities are disproportionately represented in child protection processes and are more likely than other parents to have their children permanently removed (Booth et al, 2005).

Recent research highlights the ongoing challenges these parents face, revealing that the family justice and child welfare system often fails to uphold their rights under disability, equality, and human rights laws (Ryan, 2025).

There is growing evidence that the Good practice guidance on working with parents with a learning disability (Working Together with Parents Network, 2021) - a set of key principles for supporting parents endorsed by successive presidents of the family courts - has not been consistently implemented across the child protection and family justice systems (MacIntyre et al, 2019; Public Law Working Group, 2021).

Regional inconsistencies in practice mean that many parents are not receiving the support they need, including tailored communication and accessible information, to fully engage in decisions about their children’s future.

Too many parents struggle to get the right support at the right time - something we hear all too often on Family Rights Group’s advice line.

A film made with and for parents

To address this situation, Family Rights Group has made a film to support parents with learning difficulties or disabilities who come into contact with the children’s social care system.

‘A film for parents with learning difficulties and disabilities: working with a child and family social worker’ was made in collaboration with advocacy organisation Speakup Rotherham and with parents with learning difficulties or disabilities.

It aims to help families understand what to expect when social workers become involved in their child’s life.

What the film provides

The film provides clear, accessible information about:

• Key processes and terms, such as ‘making a referral,’ ‘assessment’ and ‘child protection enquiry’ .
• What parents should be able to expect during any assessment, including how social workers should work and support them during this time, and the options they may have.
• Ways that social workers should communicate and work with parents to promote their understanding and participation. This includes how parents can have their concerns and views heard - for example, by working with an advocate.

From the outset, parents played a central role in making the film, collaborating with members of Family Rights Group’s social work team to shape the content, review the script, influence the film’s tone and language and take part in its final production.

By combining the organisation’s legal and social work expertise with Speakup Rotherham’s expertise in supporting parents with learning difficulties and disabilities, the film reflects the experiences, challenges, and perspectives of those that the film aims to assist.

The experiences of parents with learning difficulties or disabilities

During the film’s development, Family Rights Group heard from parents with learning difficulties or disabilities who had been involved with the child welfare system. They shared the profound impact of insufficient support on both them and their family.

Many parents shared their experiences of not feeling listened to, not having their options explained to them, and not understanding what was going to happen next, leaving them with a sense of powerlessness over the decisions made about their children. Some felt that social workers held preconceptions about their parenting abilities as a result of their learning difficulty or disability, while most feared their child’s removal.

One parent said: "Sometimes it feels like we have to fight for our rights and show that we can be good parents just like other parents are."

Some parents shared positive experiences of working with child and family social workers, emphasising the value of tailored support and a strengths-based approach. They highlighted the need for child and family assessments to consider their entire family and support network, for reports to reflect their perspectives, and the important role of advocates in amplifying their voices.

Helping social workers explain their role

Clear communication between social workers and parents with learning difficulties or disabilities is crucial for effective partnership working.

However, evidence suggests that the quality of this communication - including the use of clear and understandable language, face-to-face conversations, and accessible formats for assessments and reports - varies across practice. Social workers have attributed this inconsistency to a lack of time, confidence, and training (Burch et al, 2024).

This film responds to this by offering a practical, easy-to-use resource. It assists social workers in explaining their role and building the foundations for effective working relationships. And it helps families understand what they should be able to expect in terms of communication and support that is adapted to meet their individual needs.

While many parents report that their experiences have not always reflected this, those involved in creating the film stressed the value of sharing this information to empower and inform other parents. Vicky, a parent involved in the project, explained that "the film gives social workers more understanding of what it’s like for people with learning disabilities when they are parents".

'An essential resource' for practitioners

Parents have described the film as an ‘essential resource’ for wider use by practitioners across the child welfare system.

This is in line with research shows that parents’ learning difficulties or disabilities are often not formally recognised until their case reaches court. This delayed recognition can result in assessments and support that fail to meet individual needs, and in decision-making processes that, in effect, exclude parents.

This highlights the importance of using the film widely - not only with parents who have a formal diagnosis. While the film focuses on early involvement with children’s services, its core principles - clear communication and tailored support - are relevant at every stage.

Promoting families’ voices, expertise and insights

Opportunities for families with lived experience to actively shape local and national policies, services and practice in the child welfare system have progressed but remain inconsistent.

Beyond the film itself, this project has underscored the need for children’s services to routinely involve and learn from the insight of families, particularly those most at risk of losing their children, including mothers and fathers with learning difficulties or disabilities.

Savannah Burney is social work policy adviser at Family Rights Group, a charity that works to ensure that families involved with the child welfare system and family justice system are treated fairly, have their rights respected and can make informed decisions.

References

Booth, T, Booth, W and McConnell, D (2005) The prevalence and outcomes of care proceedings involving parents with learning difficulties in the family courts Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities 18(1) pp 7-17

Burch, K, Simpson, A, Taylor, V, Bala, A and Morgado De Queiroz, S (2024) Babies in care proceedings: What do we know about parents with learning disabilities or difficulties? Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

Ryan, M (2025) What are the experiences of parents with learning disabilities or difficulties in care proceedings? Spotlight series. London: Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

MacIntyre, G, Stewart, A and McGregor, S (2019) The double-edged sword of vulnerability: Explaining the persistent challenges for practitioners in supporting parents with intellectual disabilities Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32, pp 1523-1534

Public Law Working Group (2021) Recommendations to achieve best practice in child protection and family justice systems

Working Together with Parents Network (2021) Good practice guidance on working with parents with a learning disability University of Bristol and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation