Children’s Social Services
Social services is a team of professionals in Leeds City Council who work to keep children and families safe, happy and healthy. The team works with different services like housing and health, co-ordinated by a social worker.
People sometimes worry that if social services get involved in their family, their child will be taken away and put into ‘care’. It is natural to worry, but social services mostly work with the family together, usually in the home. They will only take a child away from a family if there is very clear evidence they are at risk of significant harm and there must be a court order to do this.
You can ask for help from social services yourself, or a professional such as a teacher or GP can ask on your behalf (this is called making a referral). After this, an assessment will be made to find out what your child and your family needs.
Here are some examples of help you may be able to get from children’s social services:
- Supporting the family during a difficult time or with a particular problem
- Supporting parents with physical or learning disability to care for their child
- Supporting children who care for their parents
- Working with families affected by drug or alcohol addiction
- Helping children and adults in the family to find safety if they are at risk of significant harm
The team will try to help as early as possible after the problem starts, to prevent it becoming worse.
Find out more about Children’s Services on the Leeds City Council website:
Support for children with special educational needs or disabilities
Your child may have a special educational need or disability (also called SEND) if they have significant difficulty learning compared to other children of the same age, or a long-term illness or health condition which makes it difficult for them to take part in daily activities.
Leeds has plan (called the Leeds Local Offer) to help children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities. It includes information about what services and support you and your child can get, including:
- schools and colleges
- transport
- getting a job
- sport and other activities
- local parent groups
The Leeds Local Offer has a website which tells you more:
You can also find helpful information, including for children aged under 5, on Leeds City Council’s Family Information Service website:
There is more information about what help is available to your child in the What your child’s school can help with section of this website.
