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Our social care services give support to children and families, when there are major family problems or serious concerns about the welfare of children or young people. We aim to work with families to understand the circumstances and to identify the best support for them so that they can care for their children at home wherever possible.
We work together with families and other services, like education, housing and health, to ensure families receive the support they need.
How can we help?
When people are struggling to cope with being parents, we can offer short term support to help them overcome their difficulties. It depends on each family’s situation but this support might include:
- Practical help and advice about dealing with children’s behaviour,
- Helping parents and children use other services, like taking up healthcare appointments for the child, until they feel confident to do this themselves,
- Parenting groups which help improve parenting skills, or
- Support from a social worker for short periods of time, so that families can stay living at home together or children and young people can return home.
Who can we help?
We can only offer support to children and young people (up to 18) living in Stoke-on-Trent, when:
- Their health and development is seriously affected, or is likely to be, or
- Their safety or well-being is at risk – we would have to do an assessment to decide whether this is the case.
How do you ask for this service?
If you need advice, please contact Swann House on 01782 235100. The office is open Monday – Thursday 8.30am to 5pm and Friday 8.30am – 4.30pm.
The address is:
Swann House
Boothen Road
Stoke on Trent
ST4 4SY
If you have already got a social worker, you should contact them directly.
What happens when you contact us?
If you phone Swann House, we will ask you some questions to find out more about you, like your age, name, address and what help you need. We will decide whether our services can help you or offer advice on other services than can help and let you know within 1 working day.
We will carry out an assessment with you, where we will meet you and talk to you about your situation and the support you need. We aim to do this within 7 working days. Sometimes, when situations are more complicated, we need to do a more detailed assessment. We aim to do this within 35 working days. If you need family support services, these will be set up as soon as possible.
Who can contact us?
Any member of the public can contact us if they have a serious concern about a child or young person. Children or young people themselves can also contact us, if they feel they need our help.
If you are worried about a child or young person, or think they are being abused, view our page on Safeguarding Children by clicking on the link to the left.