Practice Guidance for Social Workers

In liaison with legal officers from both of our area Local Authorities, I have prepared the attached Practice Guidance for Social Workers on the preparation of statements, assessments and chronologies.

I hope that the Guidance will assist local social workers in preparing cases for presentation at court as efficiently and succinctly as possible, in accordance with the PLO Guidance.  It should also enable advocates, Judges and court users to navigate their way more easily through local authority evidence.  The Guidance applies with immediate effect.

The Guidance should be read in conjunction with the Public Law Outline and the national Guidance for Completing Social Work Statements.  These documents, together with the Initial Case Analysis and Final Statement templates, can be downloaded from the PUBLIC LAW section of our Resources page.