Children experience family life through their relationships with all the adults around them. Fathers, male carers and other significant men can have a profound influence on a child's safety, wellbeing, development and identity.
National safeguarding reviews have identified that men can become "unseen" or "invisible" within assessments. This can result in practitioners overlooking both potential risks and important sources of support and protection for children.
A whole-family approach means understanding:
- who matters to the child
- who influences the child
- who provides care and support
- who may pose a risk
- who may be able to protect
Identifying significant men
Children's safety, wellbeing, identity and development are shaped by the adults around them, not just their primary caregiver. A comprehensive assessment must therefore consider everyone who plays a significant role in the child's life. Research shows that fathers and father figures can have a major positive influence on children's emotional wellbeing, resilience, educational outcomes and sense of identity. Equally, some men may present risks that need to be identified and managed.
Practitioners should routinely establish:
- biological fathers
- resident fathers
- non-resident fathers
- fathers with parental responsibility
- fathers without parental responsibility
Other significant men:
- stepfathers
- mother's partners
- ex-partners who remain involved
- adult male relatives
- family friends
- male carers
- adults who stay overnight or have regular contact with the child
Learning from safeguarding reviews demonstrates that opportunities to protect children can be missed when these adults remain "unseen" or insufficiently assessed.
Effective tools
The most effective whole-family assessment tools are those that help you identify all significant adults, understand family relationships, and analyse both risk and protective factors across the family system rather than focusing solely on the primary caregiver.
1. Genograms
A genogram is often considered the foundation of a whole-family assessment.
What it helps with:
- Identifying biological fathers, stepfathers, partners, ex-partners and other significant men
- Understanding family structure across generations
- Highlighting patterns such as domestic abuse, substance misuse, mental health difficulties, care experience, or family support networks
- Identifying who may be a protective adult for the child
- Identifying if the father has other children that don't live in the home
Rather than simply recording biological relationships, practitioners should explore:
- Quality of relationships
- Patterns of absence and involvement
- Intergenerational strengths and difficulties
- Who exercises power and influence within the family
2. Eco-maps (Ecological Mapping)
Eco-maps visually map the family's connections with people and services.
- Understanding support networks
- Identifying isolated families
- Exploring relationships with schools, health services, extended family, community groups and friends
- Highlighting informal support provided by fathers, grandparents or male relatives
3. Chronologies
What they help identify:
- Changes in household members
- New partners entering the family
- Escalating risks
- Repeated patterns of concern
- Significant life events
Safeguarding reviews have found that risks posed by male carers became clearer when agencies reviewed events through a chronology rather than viewing incidents in isolation.
Whole-family questions for assessments
Practitioners should make it routine to ask who is important to the child, who spends time with the child, who helps care for them, and who may influence family decision-making. This means looking beyond the adults who live in the family home and considering non-resident fathers, former partners, relatives and other significant adults. Family circumstances can change quickly, so information should be reviewed regularly rather than assuming earlier information remains accurate. Practitioners can unintentionally place mothers "at the centre" of safeguarding assessments, resulting in fathers being overlooked despite their significant influence on children's lives.
Alongside formal tools, the quality of questioning is often what makes an assessment truly "whole family." Consider routinely asking:
Identification
- Who are all the adults who spend time with this child?
- Who lives in the home?
- Who stays overnight?
- Who has parental responsibility?
Relationships
- Who does the child feel safe with?
- Which adults are most influential in the child's life?
- How do adults in the family manage conflict?
Fathers and male carers
- What role does the father play?
- What role does any current partner play?
- What are their strengths as caregivers?
- What concerns exist regarding their behaviour or history?
Safety and support
- Who would help if the family faced a crisis?
- Who could help keep the child safe?
Understand family dynamics
Understanding family dynamics is a vital part of any whole-family assessment. Children experience their family through the relationships, roles, expectations and behaviours of the adults around them. Practitioners should therefore explore not only who is in the family network, but also how family members relate to one another, how decisions are made, and who holds influence within the family.
A key aspect of understanding family dynamics is exploring the family's culture, beliefs and values. Culture can influence family relationships, parenting approaches, expectations of children, attitudes towards professionals, and beliefs about caregiving and responsibility. Practitioners should be open, respectful and curious about the family's cultural identity and avoid making assumptions based on ethnicity, religion, nationality or background. The aim is to understand what culture means for this particular family and how it shapes their daily lives and relationships.
It is also important to understand the family's views about the roles of men and women within the household. In some families, cultural, religious or personal beliefs may influence expectations about who provides care for children, who makes decisions, who manages finances, and who is seen as the primary caregiver. In some households, fathers or male relatives may be expected to take a leading role in decision-making, while in others caregiving responsibilities may be shared more equally. Understanding these beliefs helps practitioners gain a clearer picture of family functioning and identify who has influence over the child's experiences and wellbeing.
Practitioners should explore these issues sensitively and with professional curiosity. For example, it may be helpful to ask:
- How are decisions made within your family?
- What role does each family member play in caring for the children?
- What does being a father, mother or caregiver mean within your family?
- Who provides practical care and emotional support for the child?
- Are there cultural, religious or family traditions that influence parenting and family life?
- Who would family members turn to for advice or support?
Understanding family relationships helps practitioners assess:
- Power and control within relationships
- How decisions are made in the household
- The impact of conflict on children
- Patterns of caregiving
- Who the child trusts
- Who the child fears
- Sources of support and stress within the family
A whole-family assessment provides a more accurate picture of the child's lived experience.
Recognise fathers as both potential risks and resources
Fathers should not only be considered when there are concerns about violence, abuse or risk.
Fathers and father figures may:
- Provide emotional support.
- Offer practical care.
- Act as protective factors.
- Strengthen family resilience.
Equally, where concerns exist, practitioners have a responsibility to assess and challenge those risks directly rather than focusing intervention primarily on mothers.
Hearing the child
When assessing fathers and significant men, it is essential to understand the child's experience.
Ask:
- Who do you spend time with?
- Who helps you?
- Who do you feel safe with?
- Who do you go to when you are worried?
- Who do you enjoy being with?
- Is there anyone you feel scared of?
The child's lived experience should remain at the centre of all assessment and decision-making.
Timing and accessibility of assessments
The timing of assessments, visits, meetings and planning discussions plays an important role in ensuring that all parents and carers have a meaningful opportunity to participate. If assessments are routinely undertaken during standard working hours, professionals may unintentionally exclude fathers, non-resident fathers or other significant adults who are at work. This can contribute to men becoming less visible within assessments and limit practitioners' understanding of the child's family network. Effective engagement requires practitioners to consider the practical barriers that may prevent participation and to make reasonable efforts to involve all significant adults.
Whenever possible, appointments should be arranged at times that allow fathers, mothers and other carers to contribute directly. This may include offering early morning, late afternoon or virtual appointments where appropriate. The aim is not simply to invite parents to participate, but to create genuine opportunities for them to do so.
Being flexible about timing also helps challenge assumptions about parental roles. If practitioners routinely engage with mothers because they are more available during the day, fathers can become peripheral to assessments despite playing a significant role in the child's life. A whole-family approach requires practitioners to actively seek the views of all significant adults and ensure that practical arrangements do not unintentionally reinforce gender stereotypes or exclude key contributors.
Support and intervention for fathers and significant men
A whole-family approach should not only identify risks and protective factors but also recognise when fathers and other significant men may need support to improve outcomes for themselves and their children. Assessment should therefore consider not only current parenting capacity, but also what support, intervention or treatment may strengthen that individual's ability to provide safe and effective care. Research highlights the importance of engaging, supporting and challenging fathers appropriately, rather than viewing them solely through the lens of risk.
Practitioners should be alert to issues such as substance misuse, mental health difficulties, learning needs, trauma, childhood experiences, social isolation or emotional wellbeing concerns that may affect parenting capacity. Where these issues are identified, fathers should be offered information, advice and referrals to appropriate support services.
When considering support needs, practitioners may find it helpful to ask:
- Does this father need additional support to fulfil his parenting role?
- Are there unmet mental health, substance misuse or wellbeing needs?
- Have I discussed available support services with him?
- Have I made appropriate referrals or signposted him to help?
- Have I considered barriers to accessing support, such as work commitments, transport, language or stigma?
- How will I know whether the support is making a difference for the child?
Practitioners should remember that offering support does not remove the need to assess or manage risk where safeguarding concerns exist. Effective practice involves balancing support with appropriate challenge and accountability. Fathers should be helped to understand the impact of their behaviour on children while also being offered opportunities to make positive changes.
Reflective questions
Before concluding any assessment ask yourself:
- Have all significant men been identified?
- Have I spoken directly to them?
- Have I assessed both strengths and risks?
- Have I considered paternal family networks?
- Am I placing responsibility on the correct adult?
- What does the child say about these relationships?
- Would all significant adults be visible in my assessment to someone reading it for the first time?
- If this case was reviewed following a serious incident, could I evidence that all significant adults had been seen, heard and assessed?
- Have meeting times enabled all parents and carers to participate?
- Have I made reasonable efforts to engage fathers and other significant adults who may be working?
- If one parent was absent, how have I ensured their views are represented?
- Would I have made different arrangements if the absent parent were the child's primary caregiver?
- Have practical barriers to engagement been considered and addressed?
Supervision reflection prompts
When discussing cases in supervision, consider:
- Who has been seen and heard in this assessment?
- Who remains unseen?
- What evidence do we have regarding parenting capacity?
- What evidence is missing?
- Are we holding the right adults accountable?
- Have we recognised strengths as well as concerns?
- Would an independent reader understand the roles of all significant adults?
What does good practice look like?
Good practice means practitioners:
- Identify all significant adults early
- Speak directly with fathers and male carers wherever possible
- Include fathers and significant men in assessments, plans and meetings
- Explore both strengths and risks
- Avoid relying solely on information provided by other family members
- Regularly review who is living in, staying in, or having contact with the home
- Use professional curiosity to understand relationships and family dynamics
- Consider paternal as well as maternal family networks
- Recognise the child's wider support system
Research consistently shows that effective safeguarding is strengthened when practitioners actively engage fathers rather than focusing exclusively on mothers.