Skip to content

Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults is a complex and sensitive job, one of the most important responsibilities entrusted to public organisations and your people.

Sometimes a legal expert is required to help fulfil your safeguarding responsibilities and that’s when choosing the right team with the right expertise to support you is vital.

With a breadth and depth of experience honed over many years working on complex safeguarding issues, our team has the know-how to advise you on handling such situations, and will give you the confidence to make the right decisions at the right time.

Our services

Safeguarding children

Provide advice and training on the issue of safeguarding children

Assist in cases where staff are professionally involved in the Public Law Outline, care proceedings and when attendance at court is required

Services include:

      • Dealing with requests for statements from staff, for the purpose of Child Protection Conferences and Court proceedings
      • Information sharing and records disclosure in the context of Safeguarding Children and Police investigations
      • Preparing Safeguarding guidelines and policies
      • Preparing staff/clinicians involved in Care proceedings and liaising where appropriate with Children’s Services
      • Section 47 Child Protection referrals and Section 17 Child in Need referrals
      • Serious Case Reviews and learning lessons
      • Suspected Fabricated Induced Illness cases with reference to Working Together guidance and referral to the Local Authority
Safeguarding vulnerable adults

Provide advice and training on issues surrounding the safeguarding of vulnerable adults

Offer pragmatic and practical advice to our clients and only make applications made to the Court of Protection as a last resort

Services include:

      • Advice in relation to DoLS post-Cheshire West.
      • Advice in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Human Rights Act 1998.
      • Advice on the treatment and care of vulnerable adults where they lack capacity to decide themselves.
      • Applications to the Court of Protection.
      • Attendance at multidisciplinary team meetings to discuss the care to be provided to a vulnerable adult and liaising with Councils, GPs and other relevant care providers.

Contact a specialist

Jonathan Flower

Consultant | Children & Safeguarding, Newcastle

+44 (0) 330 137 3206

Email Jonathan Flower

Read bio

Lisa Evans

Partner | Healthcare

+44 (0) 330 137 3393

+44 (0)773 846 2682

Email Lisa Evans

Read bio

View all contacts

What people say

  • We have a real sense of a fresh approach from Ward Hadaway in terms of client engagement which is providing the Trust with added value benefits in terms of both cost and quality of service.

    Paul Dowell MCIPS, Deputy Head of Procurement & Supplies, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
  • Excellent full-service family group which continues to expand across the North of England. Recognised for its collaborative approach to financial remedy matters and for its work on public law cases involving guardians.

    Chambers & Partners
  • Offers noteworthy experience in matrimonial disputes in the farming sector and child cases with a cross-border aspect.

    Chambers & Partners
  • Highly regarded in matrimonial finance, with a particular niche in representing owner-managed businesses and other professionals. Extensive Children Act experience, including in handling cases with international elements.

    Chambers & Partners
  • This well-established team maintains a strong reputation, and…is able to provide clients with specialist advice on high-value financial provision matters, public children law and cross-border children disputes.

    Chambers & Partners
  • Jonathan Flower's team at Ward Hadaway provides 'good' advice.

    Legal 500
  • My visits to Ward Hadaway helped make me feel confident of a fair outcome to my case, and at no point did I feel that false promises were being made.

    Client quote, Chambers & Partners

What we're thinking