Yates Family

Yates family story

Brian, aged 33, Jane, aged 32 and their son Tom, aged 7 live in a rented two bedroom flat as part of an independent living scheme run by a local housing provider.  Brian and Jane met when they attended a local specialist school, and have been in a caring and stable relationship since then.  Brian has an autism spectrum disorder, and Jane has mild cerebral palsy that affects her mobility and special educational needs.  

Jane became pregnant when aged 25, and was referred to children's social care by the specialist midwife for a pre-birth assessment. 

After the birth of Tom an early help assessment was undertaken, and they engaged well with the plan which included enhanced health visitor support, regular visits by the independent living support worker and  parenting support from the local children’s centre. 

Tom attended a pre-nursery school, and then started primary school close to their home. Tom was doing well in mainstream primary school with additional support for his educational development. 

Brian is spending more and more time on his computer, often late into the night. He has spent a lot of money making his own computers which he does in the living room. He now has one for gaming which has four monitors, one for work (he is a data analyst) and a laptop, printer and router. 

There is also an electric powered oil filled heater which he says he uses in the winter at night as the flat becomes too cold.

The school recently made a referral to children’s social care following a meeting with Jane that raised concerns about her emotional well being and ability to care for Tom. School was also concerned about Tom being late for school, and often was tired in class. 

Jane told them that Brian spends all the time on his computers, and that the front room is full of computers and technical equipment. 

The social worker undertook a home visit and completed a family assessment which noted that the flat was untidy, and the mattress in Tom’s bedroom was soiled and did not have clean bedding. A family support worker was allocated to support the family with daily tasks and to get Tom into a routine for school. Whilst Jane engaged fully with the plan, the situation with Brian remained the same and he continued to be absorbed with his computers.  

The fire brigade was called out late one evening and found the house alight but managed to put out the fire and bring everyone to safety. The cause of the fire was overloaded plug sockets and daisy chained extension leads. The fire investigation concluded that the  outcome could have been very different had the oil filled heater ignited.