Parents & family life · England
An assessment of your parenting
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An assessment looks at how your child’s needs can be met.
It should also look at support for your family.
An assessment should look at your family’s life.
A test score alone cannot show how you care for your child.
Ask who will do the assessment.
Ask if they have experience with parents with learning disabilities.
Explain how you learn best.
Ask workers to use information you understand.
Tell the assessor about help you already have.
Explain what extra support you need.
Ask what the plan is.
Ask who will help, and when they can help.
Ask someone to explain the report.
Tell your advocate or solicitor if something is wrong.
There may be a date for sending your response.
Ask your solicitor to explain any court deadlines.
What you can do next
Write down what you want the assessor to know.
Ask a supporter to help if you want.
Read the specialist Good Practice Guidance PDFThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- WTPN: Good Practice Guidance PDF
A detailed professional document to discuss with your supporter or solicitor.
- ParentAssess Web page
One specialist assessment framework. Inclusion is not an endorsement or a claim that this tool is compulsory.
- Supporting Parents Well — Easy Read PDFEasy Read
Easy Read research findings about how services can support parents with learning difficulties and listen to them.
- Finding the Right Help — research report (2008) PDFLonger information
A December 2008 research report by Beth Tarleton and Anna Marriott, including resources for supporting parents with learning difficulties. This longer report is for supporters and workers; listed services may have changed.
- Supporting Parents with a Learning Disability through the Child Protection System — toolkit (2017) PDFLonger information
A January 2017 professional toolkit. It is longer information for supporters and workers, rather than an Easy Read booklet for parents. Check current guidance alongside it.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
A fair and accessible parenting assessment
What to ask when professionals assess parenting and the support your family needs.
Parents and supporters · England
Know what is being assessed
Ask who requested the assessment, what questions it must answer, where it will happen and who receives the report. A parenting assessment considers how a child’s needs can be met. A diagnosis or IQ score alone cannot answer that question. Ask how your practical abilities and support needs will be explored.
Suitable experience and methods
Ask what experience the assessor has of working with parents with learning disabilities. The method should fit your communication and learning needs. Specialist frameworks, including ParentAssess, may help assessors organise their work. A named test is not automatically required in every case. Ask why the proposed approach is suitable and how it will be adapted.
A chance to learn and show skills
Discuss how you will be shown tasks, practise them and receive feedback. Ask for clear steps and enough repetition to demonstrate learning. Keep a record of teaching actually offered and missed sessions. Ask how the assessment distinguishes skills you already have, skills you can learn, and tasks requiring continuing support.
Look at the whole situation
Assessment should consider the child’s development and safety alongside your abilities and circumstances. Explain housing problems, health needs, stress and the role of other adults. Describe support that is available in practice. Ask what would happen if a supporter became unavailable, and how the plan would adapt as the child’s needs change.
Examine the proposed support
If a professional says a support plan would not work, ask which part concerns them and why. Ask whether changes could reduce the risk, and whether options can be tried safely. A plan needs named people, realistic availability and clear responsibilities. Support should help your relationship with your child. Neither a proposed package nor an assessment guarantees an outcome.
Understand and respond to the report
Ask for the findings in a form you understand and time to discuss them. Tell the assessor about factual mistakes, missing strengths or support that was promised but not provided. Give specific examples. You can ask for your disagreement to be recorded. If proceedings are involved, discuss the report and response deadlines with your solicitor immediately.
Guidance and your next steps
The Working Together with Parents Network’s 2021 Good Practice Guidance is a useful specialist reference, but is not itself statutory guidance. England’s Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 sets expectations for respectful, accessible work with families. Ask your advocate to help prepare questions. Your solicitor can advise on challenging evidence or requesting court directions where appropriate.
Words you could use
“Please explain how this assessment will reflect my learning needs, the support provided, and what I can do with suitable help.”
More useful links
- WTPN: Good Practice Guidance PDF
A detailed professional document to discuss with your supporter or solicitor.
- ParentAssess Web page
One specialist assessment framework. Inclusion is not an endorsement or a claim that this tool is compulsory.
- Supporting Parents Well — Easy Read PDFEasy Read
Easy Read research findings about how services can support parents with learning difficulties and listen to them.
- Finding the Right Help — research report (2008) PDFLonger information
A December 2008 research report by Beth Tarleton and Anna Marriott, including resources for supporting parents with learning difficulties. This longer report is for supporters and workers; listed services may have changed.
- Supporting Parents with a Learning Disability through the Child Protection System — toolkit (2017) PDFLonger information
A January 2017 professional toolkit. It is longer information for supporters and workers, rather than an Easy Read booklet for parents. Check current guidance alongside it.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 27 October 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- WTPN: Good Practice Guidance, 2021 PDF
Assessment, practical skills, teaching and family circumstances.
- WTPN: joint working protocol, 2024 PDF
Assessor experience and clear, coordinated support plans.
- ParentAssess: the framework provider Web page
An example of an adaptable specialist assessment approach.
- University of Bristol: research on supported parenting Web page
Research on analysing specific risks and considering support options.
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 Web page
Accessible participation, clear explanations and child-centred decisions.
- GOV.UK: finding a legal adviser Web page
Help with getting advice about a legal case.