Report Writing and Courtroom Skills for Children's Social Workers

Course Outline

Drawing on the expertise of experienced family law barristers, the course blends practical statement and report‑writing skills with courtroom performance training, aligned with PLO requirements and best practice standards.

With the current pressures upon Children’s Social Care and other professionals that work in partnership with them, given their huge caseloads, the complexity of cases, staff shortages and turnover plus the additional demands of the PLO and the need to be court compliant, this course is designed to assist all social workers and other connected professionals such as FSW’s to write succinct, factual, child focused, credible and balanced SWET’s and other court reports and statements. This could include s.7 or s.37 reports or risk assessments or parenting assessments. The course is also designed to enable SW’s and others to gain confidence when providing spoken evidence to the Family Court.

On the first day delegates will learn how to produce well-structured and court compliant statements and reports which will promote the child’s best interests, whilst more readily assisting the court in their decision-making responsibilities. In addition, the aim is to insulate the statements from prolonged challenge from cross-examination. During the day we will also consider section 7 and 37 reports, social work evidence, risk assessments, capacity reports, PAMS assessments and care plans. The delegates will also be provided with a court report or SWET to critique through the eyes of the Judge.

On the second day of the course delegates will familiarisation themselves with the court process by considering the role of a social worker as a witness, the court process, the court layout, the process in the witness box, preparation for giving evidence and consider the techniques used by lawyers to undermine and discredit witnesses. In the afternoon, delegates will put into practice what they have learnt in the morning and undergo cross-examination in a mock courtroom and receive feedback on their performance.

Key Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes for Day 1

Evaluate a social work statement (SWET) or report that truly reflects a child’s needs and the risks around them.
Identify the issues to be addressed in your statement/report.
Distinguish between fact, inference and opinion.
Enhance conclusions or recommendations by linking the relevant factual evidence with persuasive analysis.
Make appropriate use of records, notes and other relevant information as the basis for statements and reports.
Adopt an appropriate format, layout and style for your statement/report.
Develop an objective and critical approach to written evidence

Learning outcomes for day 2

Outline how court skills training assists with presenting a case to a judge with confidence.
Evaluate how witness familiarisation assists a witness to prepare to give evidence with confidence.
Describe procedures and processes of giving evidence, order of events and roles of those at the hearing.
Practice how to give clear, honest and objective evidence
Illustrate how to make appropriate use of supporting evidence, documents, graphics and notes when giving evidence.
Enhance how to prepare for giving evidence.
Identify the techniques of cross-examination and learning how to handle them.
Obtain experience in being a witness and cross-examined through role-play.