WillisPalmer’s head of operations Harriet Jannetta on the importance of considering siblings within assessments
When I started to write this blog, I questioned myself about why I had chosen this as the topic. The simple answer is that whilst not everyone will undertake sibling assessments, the reality is that when undertaking any assessment each and every one of us must be mindful about the impact of our recommendations on the child/children involved.
The relationships that we have with our siblings are considered to be one of the longest lasting and most significant of all of our relationships. Our siblings help us to learn about social interactions, conflict management, play skills, negotiation skills, and consequently it could be argued that they are amongst the most important of all human relationships in aiding our social development and our ability to develop resilience and manage life.
If you accept the above then it follows that it is essential when making recommendations about the future placements of children that not only do you consider the individual needs of each child but also their needs as a sibling group. Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that the significance of sibling relationships is personal and interpersonal rather than biological or legal and this understanding should therefore guide our thinking and practice in our work with siblings.
Statutory guidance regarding sibling placements is:
When undertaking any kind of assessment where you are considering care planning and permanency options for children it is essential that when reaching your recommendations, you have considered and reflect the interests of each child as well as the sibling group. This includes looking at contact where your recommendation involve separation of the sibling group.
A look back at 2022 with WillisPalmer's Head of Practice, Lucy Hopkins…
2022 saw people trying to get back to some degree of normality following the Covid-19 lockdowns, restrictions and school closures that we had faced for the previous two years. However, the impact of Covid-19 continued and many services experienced, and continue to experience, backlogs and difficulties, including those services relating to children and families.
Social worker [...]Every year people are excited to see what the theme of the John Lewis & Partners Christmas advert will be. This year's advert reminded our Head of Practice, Lucy Hopkins, of all the times she arrived at the homes of foster carers with children or young people who were anxious, scared, worried and hungry, having just [...]
The WillisPalmer Christmas Tree Decorating Competition 2022
We have two Christmas trees at the WillisPalmer office and this year the staff upstairs are going to compete with the staff downstairs to see who has the best decorated tree... and we want YOU to decide on the winner!
Tree 1 - Downstairs
Tree [...]
A Mackman Group collaboration - market research by Mackman Research | website design by Mackman