Table Of ContentPRACTICAL
SOCIAL WORK
Series Editor: Jo Campling
(BASW)
Editorial Advisory Board:
Terry Bamford, Malcolm Payne, Patrick Phelan,
Petefl Riches, Daphne Statham, Jane Tunstill,
Sue Walrond-Skinner and Margaret Yelloly
Social work is at an important stage in its development. All
professions must be responsive to changing social and
economic conditions if they are to meet the needs of those
they serve. This series focuses on sound practice and the
specific contribution which social workers can make to the
well-being of our society.
The British Association of Social Workers has always been
conscious of its role in setting guidelines for practice and in
seeking to raise professional standards. The conception of the
Practical Social Work series arose from a survey of BASW
members to discover where they, the practitioners in social
work, felt there was the most need for new literature. The
response was overwhelming and enthusiastic, and the result is
a carefully planned, coherent series of books. The emphasis is
firmly on practice, set in a theoretical framework. The books
will inform, stimulate and promote discussion, thus adding to
the further development of skills and high professional
standards. All the authors are practitioners and teachers of
social work representing a wide variety of experience.
JOCAMPLING
PRACTICAL
SOCIAL WORK
Series Editor: Jo Campling
(BASW)
PUBLISHED Applied Psychology for Social Workers
Paula Nicolson and Rowan Bayne
Social Work and Mental Handicap
David Anderson Crisis Intervention in Social Services
Kieran O'Hagan
Social Workers at Risk
Robert Brown, Stanley Bute and Social Work with Disabled People
Peter Ford Michael Oliver
Social Work and Mental Illness Separation, Divorce and Families
Alan Butler and Colin Pritchard Lisa Parkinson
Residential Work, Social Care in the Community
Roger Clough Malcolm Payne
Social Work and Child Abuse Working in Teams
David M. COOpttr and David Ball Malcolm Payne
Social Work Practice: An Introduction Effective Groupwork
Veronica Coulshed Michael Preston-Shoot
Sociology in Social Work Practice Adoption and Fostering: Why and How
Peter R. Day Carole R. Smith
Anti-Racist Social Work: A Challenge for Social Work with the Dying and
White Practitioners and Educators Bereaved
Lena Dominelli Carole R. Smith
Welfare Rights Work in Social Services Child Care and the Courts
Geoff Fimister Carole R. Smith, Mary T. Lane and
Terry Walsh
Student Supervision
Kathy Ford and Alan Jones Community Work
Alan Twelvetrees
Child Sexual Abuse
Danya Glaser and Stephen Frosh Working with Offenders
Hilary Walker and Bill Beaumont
Computers in Social Work (eds)
Bryan Glastonbury
FORTHCOMING
Working with Families
Gill Gorell Barnes Social Work and Local Politics
Paul Daniel and John Wheeler
Women and Social Work: Towards a
Woman-centred Practice Family Work with Elderly People
Jalna Hanmer and Daphne Statham Alison Froggatt
Youth Work Working with Young Offenders
Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (eds) John Pitts
Problems of Childhood and Social Work and Housing
Adolescence Gill Stewart with John Stewart
Michael Kerfoot and Alan Butler
Social Work with Old People
Mary Marshall
Child Care and the Courts
Carole R. Smith, Mary T. Lane and Terry Walsh
M
MACMILLAN
EDUCATION
© British Association of Social Workers 1988
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied
or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance
with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended),
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issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33-4 Alfred Place,
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to
this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and
civil claims for damages.
First published 1988
Published by
MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Smith, Carole R.
Child care and the courts.-(Practical
social work).
1. England. Child care services. Law
I. Title II. Lane, Mary T. III. Walsh,
Terry IV. Series
344.204'327
ISBN 978-0-333-42077-5 ISBN 978-1-349-19516-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-19516-9
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Contents
Authors' Note vii
1 Social Workers and the Legislative Framework: A
Case of Occupational Blinkers 1
Introduction 1
The legislative framework 3
A negative relationship? 4
Ambivalence, ignorance and hostility: some
explanations 8
Some general observations in support of positive
change 19
Some particular observations in support of positive
change 24
Conclusion 27
2 The Legal System 29
Principles of natural justice 30
The legal profession: solicitors and barristers 39
Legal aid 44
Social worker roles in court 46
The court system 53
3 The Courts with Jurisdiction for Children 57
The Magistrates' Court, Juvenile and Domestic 57
The Juvenile Court 58
The Domestic Court 71
The County Court 74
The High Court, Family Division 83
The Court of Appeal, Civil Division 91
The House of Lords 92
The European Court of Justice 93
The journey continues 93
4 Preparing for Trial 95
Evidence 95
v
vi Content
The rules of evidence 97
Making initial preparations 103
Working with lawyers 109
5 Court Craft 119
Going to court 119
Losing and winning 120
The night before court 121
The morning of court 122
Personal appearance 122
The courtroom 124
The oath 126
The order of trial 127
Entrance (stage left) 128
All stand 129
Examination in chief 130
Evidence in chief 131
Cross-examination 133
Re-examination 137
After the witness box 138
6 Family Courts: A Bright Hope for the Future? 140
Introduction 140
Jurisdiction 144
Procedures and ethos 151
Specialisation: knowledge and consistency in
applying the law 161
Conciliation and welfare services 166
The structure of a unified family court 170
Conclusion 172
7 Conclusion 174
References 178
Index 182
Authors' Note
Any opinions expressed and/or interpretations offered in
this book are solely those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect those of any employing authority/
organisation in the fields of social services or legal practice.
CAROLE R. SMITII
MARYT.LANE
TERRY WALSH
vii
To Stephen
1
Social Workers and the
Legislative Framework:
A Case of Occupational
Blinkers
Introduction
We have little doubt that the reader will have witnessed or
experienced the apprehension which stems from statutory
intervention in the lives of children and their families. Social
workers are understandably concerned about the effects
which legal action may have on their clients and working
relationships. What is harder to confront, except among
trusted colleagues, is the anxiety and fear that arise from an
ignorance of the law, uncertainty about legal procedures,
working with lawyers and, horror of horrors, giving evidence
in court. We have all been through it, whether as social
workers, or as in the case of our co-author, as a solicitor who
frequently acts as an advocate. The well-worn reassurance
that confidence will only come with experience is of little
comfort to the beginner. Having shared the anxiety symp
toms of dry mouth, racing brain and occasional mental
paralysis, we do not believe that such suffering is necessary,
particularly as social workers may also make unfortunate
mistakes while they are travelling the path of experience in
search of equanimity and confidence.
This book is about understanding and mastering the
relationship between social work and what we have termed
1
