Majewska Family

Claire is a mother of working age (45) who has ASD and a history of mental ill health (depression). Claire lives with her daughter Hannah (13), partner Alicja and her two children Nadia (5) and Michal (9). Whilst Nadia and Michal sometimes refer to Claire as mum, especially since they no longer see
their father, Hannah has struggled with the changes and is still getting used to having a step-mum and stepbrother and sister.

Alicja is a very ‘hands-on’ parent and is also Claire’s carer (helps her to remember to take medication, manages the household money, etc., when she is struggling). Before entering their relationship, Alicja was married to Krzysztof; they met when they were teenagers and married young. Claire had an on-and-off relationship with Hannah’s father, Jamie Brown.

In the past, Claire has made calls to emergency services reporting incidents of domestic abuse, alleging that Alicja has hit her in front of the children. On one occasion, Claire informed the police that Alicja had locked her in the bedroom for a number of days. When police visited the property, all was calm, and Claire withdrew the allegations, stating that she was struggling with her mental health and was angry with Alicja. The children were in bed when the police visited.

Recently, the school have raised concerns about the younger children and are also worried about Alicja, who appears low in mood. Both Alicja and the children appear unkempt, and one of the teachers thought they could smell alcohol on Alicja when she dropped the children at school. The teacher tried to raise this sensitively with Alicja, who responded by telling the teacher to mind their own business.

Both Nadia and Michal appear dirty, their school uniform is looking worn, and Michal, who is a rather boisterous little boy, has a large hole at the front of his shoe and has been complaining about getting wet feet when it rains. Both children often ask for toast when they arrive each morning at school.

The teachers are aware of the financial struggles for many families currently in the local area, especially with the cost of living increasing, so they make sure all the children have access to breakfast. Michal was seen putting extra food in his bag, which is something the teachers will keep an eye on and ask him about when the other children are not around.

Usually, both Alicja and Claire drop the children at school together and are very chatty with the staff, so Alicja attending alone and being off with the teachers seems out of character. Claire has not been seen at the school now for a couple of weeks, which is another change as she typically collects the children at the end of the day.

On a few occasions, the children have been collected late, and the school has not been able to contact either parent. On at least two occasions, the older stepsister Hannah has collected the children. The family only lives around the corner from the school, and Hannah explained that her mum had sent her as the workmen were in fixing the boiler.

Hannah is aged 13, soon to be 14. She seems very mature for her age, articulate, and intelligent. Hannah attends the local high school, and until recently, she has never really been known to the teachers.

Hannah has struggled with the changes in her family, and it has taken some adjusting to get used to her mum now being with Alicja and them all living together. This came as a surprise to Hannah, and she was cross with her mother for humiliating her dad.

Hannah’s presentation in school has deteriorated in recent weeks; she has always enjoyed school, but when the other students found out her mum was now living with Alicja, they have been bullying Hannah and saying all sorts of horrible things. The comments have been homophobic and offensive.

Hannah does not feel able to tell the teachers about this, as there are other things going on at home, and she is worried people will find out. Hannah likes to go to her dad’s as much as she can; he helps her with her homework, and things are less chaotic. But Jamie works shifts and often works lates, as they pay better. Regardless, Hannah is expected to be at her mother’s home to help look after her younger siblings.

However, there have been a few occasions where Hannah has gone missing from school, and Claire has reported Hannah missing to the police on three separate occasions over the space of a month, as she has not returned home when expected, and Michal and Nadia have been left at school uncollected. Hannah has refused to say where she had been and has stressed it is not her responsibility to look after Alicja’s children.

Hannah is very private about her phone, keeps it out of sight of her mother, and often leaves the room when she receives phone calls. However, with all the arguing and fighting recently, Hannah is worried about leaving the younger ones for longer than a couple of days; she is worried they might get caught up in arguments and get hurt.

Nadia and Michal’s school have tried to contact Alicja by phone this week to arrange a meeting to check in on how the family are doing and to see if they would like any additional support. The phone number the school has for Alicja seems to ring out.

The staff instead contacted Claire to ask about Alicja and whether they could both attend a meeting at the school. Claire tells the school to stop bothering them, saying they have a lot going on currently and they do not need anymore. e stress. Claire declined the offer of support and is refusing to attend a meeting at the school.

During the following week, the younger children arrived late most days, and today Nadia has arrived with no coat and only wearing a t-shirt and a skirt, with no tights. The temperature has dropped significantly in recent weeks, and it is now early November. Nadia tells the teacher she is cold and has forgotten her jumper, and she doesn’t know where her tights have gone. She thinks they are in the ‘big pile’ of stuff on the floor in the kitchen.

Nadia tells the teacher that ‘mummy needs to clean because Barbie and Ken, their two dogs, have been pooing everywhere,’ that she had stepped in poo and that is why she hasn’t got her tights on today. Nadia also told the teacher that Claire shouted at her and told her to ‘get to school’.

Michal is not in school today; the teacher asks Nadia about his whereabouts. Nadia went quiet and dropped her head to the floor. ‘Mummy said not to say anything, or she would get into trouble.’

Nadia did eventually share that Michal is not in school today as he asked for breakfast because he was hungry, and Claire hit him, which resulted in Alicja and Claire arguing and fighting. Nadia said she wanted to live with her nanny Magdalena, but she can’t as nanny is poorly. Michal and Nadia have no contact with their father, Krzysztof, but they do see nanny from time to time. The children like staying at Magdalena’s as it is warm at her house, she makes their favourite food, spaghetti, and they go to the park.

In light of the evolving concerns and the school’s increasing worries about the children not being dressed appropriately for school, arriving late and often hungry, and the information shared by Nadia about Claire hitting Michal, the school has made a referral to children’s services.

Majewska Family

Unit learning outcomes

1) Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding

Identify the values, skills and ethics underpinning work with children, young people and families and recognise the importance of boundaries within practice and how conflict can arise between personal values and professional ethics.

2) Demonstrate the following skills and abilities

The ability to select, apply and reflect on the appropriate skills in practice with service users to support effective outcomes with due regard to ethics and inclusivity

 

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