Britain’s first parent-led review into children’s social care, the Best Interests of the Child Review (BIC), held its first online conference on Wednesday 1st December, in which attendees asked a range of questions about the review.
The conference was hosted and led by BIC’s lead, Michele Simmons, who experienced the children’s care system with her son. Joining Michele were BIC team members Simon Haworth, a lecturer in social work at Birmingham University, and ourselves (Natasha Phillips).
During the event, attendees asked what topics and areas the review would cover, and several excellent comments and suggestions were also raised by parents who had been through the children’s social care system.
Attendees asked questions about law-breaking inside the sector, poor social work practice, and accountability mechanisms. The team also answered queries about the unnecessary removal of children from their parents, legal aid and support for domestic violence victims.
You can watch the conference in full below.
Researching Reform 
well done if i can help in anyway let me know MISS A dr hibbert x
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Thank you, and really appreciated xxx
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Sorry I couldn’t make it but hope there will be another on line event soon?
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Hi there, not to worry and yes, we will definitely be having more of these events moving forward.
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Unfortunately there is no immediate support or any support whatsoever, but sheer cruelty from Responsible Professionals, who are behaving in the most cruel manner and under heavy influence from Social Services. There is no services from Social Services, but agitation day after day. I am so ashamed about their behaviour and about their lies. They are making it up as it goes. I have been blackened, persecuted and punished for raising legitimate complaints about care and treatment that my daughter received at care home and two hospitals. It became a daily battle. Why has it come to it? Only, because the Local Authority would not communicate, but rather go to court to prove the point. Point of what? Their inhumanity? Certainly to avoid scrutiny.
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I hope that more people come together and speak of the real problems that we as a nation are facing and for how many years now? It was spoken about at least for more than 20 years, but nothing changed. Action is needed. I spoke to my daughter’s psychiatric nurse the other day. She asked me a lot of questions. She always does and I always answer best to my ability. In the end, she asked me what I would like to happen? I explained to her that four years ago my daughter and I came with an open heart to a brand new care home, supported accommodation. I tried my best to bond with everyone. There were a lot of people involved with whom I have no problems whatsoever, but they soon lost job or quit themselves. All of the bad ones stuck together and made our life just misery. Who are these strangers and why they did they behave in such a disturbing way? But the Social services are a separate matter. They are vindictive liars. Anyway, I explained to the Psychiatric nurse that for some reason E… and I were never accepted and bullying started. Later I was served with the court of protection and persecuted and punished for trying my best to protect my daughter, but all I want is to be included and not excluded in my daughter’s life and be together with people for the sake of my daughter. She said that is the difficult one. I was speechless. How difficult is to be a human? How difficult is it to see that there have never been problems before that place, or now in a new one, unless the agitation starts again of course.
[edited]
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Social workers as vindictive liars ha been my own experience exactly. The official care review ignores the basic truth that social work has not been about keeping families together for a long time now.
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I will await any slot available for review for Adoptees and those injured by it without legal remedy as adults to at least leave the damned status of it ..
I just said to someone : “If they (Courts and Judges) can legally invent us as someone we are not, and we know or knew we were not, then we should be able to legally re-invent ourselves as the identity our births and DNA conferred upon us ….Honestly what paradoxical social nonsense they put us into ..
I do not see why we adoptee should be regarded : as of born of the marriage” .. Courts cannot do miracles and make us unborn and reborn as other people .. And who wants to bear the name of their abusers if adoption was abusive .. Name deeds are not enough .. Legally undoing legal fictions are the way for the stains to be taken away more from our souls .. xx
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This has been posted across a lot of FB groups by me tonight .. Scorchin’ I say scorchin ” … My torch is burning for you all .. x
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Thank you very much, Paul xxx
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Thank you Paul,
All the negative experiences and questions you have, we aim to get answered for you as the Review progresses because it’s still early days with the Review mapping yet.
If any of you haven’t already, you are most welcome to play back the conference meeting which has been made known public for transparency, to get a better idea of the things we are aiming to make happen and the goals we are aiming for with your help and support.
It’s been done with no Ill intended ulterior motive, all done voluntary by our wonderful team putting the parents and children affected right at the very heart of what we are determined to achieve for you all which is good practice.
Having gone through it myself, I understand first-hand the pain you are all going through so have your best interests at heart as children do come with families and do come with mum’s and dad’s and often siblings too, so do hear your voices.
Now we just need to make them heard bigger.
Team member and care experienced parent
Michele ššļøš¦ Xx
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Reblogged this on tummum's Blog.
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We need more of these. i will be watching the full version soon.
keep up the good work.
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My Grandsonwas forced adopted 9yrs on adoption team still won’t let us see the adoption papers Why
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