Social services are there to keep young people safe from abuse and neglect. They can support you if you're worried about yourself or another child.
Social services are a department in your local council and their job is to ensure young people are safe, looked after and aren’t suffering from abuse and neglect.
They do this by providing services for children and families who need support. Social services will get involved if they have worries about a child’s safety and will do what they can to ensure the child is safe and looked after.
3 things to remember:
You can use your postcode to find your local children’s social services and contact them to get support if you're worried about something or if you’re worried about another child.
Social services will assess your situation and decide what to do. This could be by assigning you a social worker who will find out more about what’s happening and help get you and your family the support you need.
You might feel:
It’s important to remember that social services are there to help you and your family. Getting the right support can help stop problems at home - and you’d only ever be removed from your home if absolutely necessary for your safety. It’s never wrong to ask for help. You and your family deserve to get the help and support that you need.
3 things to remember:
Social services are there to help you and your family. They'll listen carefully to what you tell them and take it seriously. For that reason, they can’t keep everything you tell them confidential. Some things they may have to tell someone about to ensure that you're safe.
You can always ask your social worker what they can and can’t keep confidential before you share your worries, and they can help you decide what to do.
If you’re unhappy with the support you’re getting from social services, then you can talk to your social worker or their team manager about this. They’re there to help you and get you the support that you need.
If you're unsure who your social worker or their team manager is you can find out from the children’s social care department at your local council. Their contact details will be on your local council’s website.
You can also make a formal complaint to the complaints team. Their contact details will also be on your local council’s website. You can speak to them about what they can keep confidential if you're worried about this.
Moving a young person into care is a last resort. Social services will only move you if it’s necessary to keep you safe.
You might feel that you want to move into care. If you do, share your concerns with social services and Childline. Social services will investigate your situation. It’s really important to share as much information as you can so social services can help you as best as they can. They’ll look at what different options there are to support you and your family and take action to keep you safe.
You can also talk through how you’re feeling with a trusted adult or with Childline. It may feel difficult to talk about it but you deserve to have the support that you need.
Our conversation starter can make it a bit easier to tell someone what's going on for you. You can take your time to write down what’s been happening, how it’s making you feel and how you'd like to be supported. You can then give that to a trusted adult.
It’s important that you’re happy where you live. If you’re unhappy, there’s always help available. You can speak to your social worker and be clear on what your concerns are, what you’re unhappy about and what you’d like changed.
If you’re under 18 and living in care you’ll have an independent reviewing officer. You can speak to them if you aren’t happy with how your social worker has responded to your concerns. If you aren’t sure who your independent reviewing officer is or how to contact them you can ask the children’s social care department of your local council.
If you’re unhappy with the response of the independent reviewing officer then you can make a formal complaint. You can find the contact details of the complaints team on your local council’s website. You can also speak to an advocate. There's more information on this on our Living in Care page.
Moving care placements
If you’re moving to new accommodation, then your social worker should give you all the information you need. They should be able to introduce you to your new carers and show you where you’re going to be living and the local area. They should keep you informed about everything to do with the move.
If you have any concerns or questions then you can share them with your social worker or independent reviewing officer. They're there to help and support you.
When you turn 18, you’ll move from being supported by children’s services to adult services. There should be a clear transition plan in place for your move that your social worker should explain to you. You should be able to ask them anything you're concerned or unsure about.
You deserve the right support. If you’re unhappy with the support you’re getting then you can make a complaint by contacting the complaints team. Their details will be on your local authority’s website.
