Position at the outset of the work

This work is set within the context of assessing and working with a family. I shall first make reference to background information before outlining the work undertaken and the aims. I shall then give an analysis of the work and discuss the learning I achieved.

The Drays are a relatively large family with six children (see genogram, Figure 1). They are white, working class and see themselves as indigenous to the East End of London. At the time of intervention the parents were married to each other and had lived together for 12 years. Both parents have large extended families who live throughout London, although there was reportedly little contact with them.

Initial social services assistance, for financial support, had been sought by the family two years after the birth of their first child Sarah. The file had been generally open throughout the 11 years since then. Before this, both parents had been ‘looked after’ in the care of the local authority, following rejection by their respective families in their early teens, although these case files had been destroyed.

At the point of allocation my role as prescribed by the transfer summary was ‘to assess the need for and … input family support as appropriate’. I was told that this case would not be too taxing and probably short term; which seemed a contradiction given the volume of case files. The rationale for my involvement seemed to be a reaction to the family's continuous presentations for support to an overburdened duty service. I began this work by creating space to read the case files. As with the initial referral, the files seemed to have been held open by the parents’ persistent demands on social services for support, as opposed to statutory requirements. None of the children had ever been ‘looked after’ under the Children Act (1989) or previous childcare legislation. There had, however, been some instances of concern relating to Adam's suspected failure to thrive in 1989, and possible cigarette burns on Norman in 1993; both were recorded under the heading of ‘no further action.’ More recent incidents up to the end of my involvement included referrals from the GP and schools raising issues of neglect, injury and child protection.