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Part of: Section 47 Report Explained: What Happens During Section 47 Enquiries?
What age do social services stop getting involved? There is no single age, but the law treats anyone under 18 as a child, so the duties to protect a child run until their 18th birthday. In practice, involvement usually ends sooner, because each stage has its own end point, and that end point is rarely a birthday.
This guide covers England and Wales, for parents who want to know when children’s services will step back. Some rules on support differ in Wales, as explained below. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
Parents often make one of two mistakes here. The first is waiting for a 16th birthday that changes far less than many people think. The second is telling the social worker you are finished: if you refuse access to the child during child protection enquiries, the council must apply for a court order unless it is satisfied the child’s welfare can be safeguarded without one.
Want involvement to end, but unsure how? A family law specialist can look at your stage and tell you what would normally bring it to a close. Book a free initial consultation.
What age do social services stop getting involved?
Children’s services can stay involved until a child turns 18, because section 105 of the Children Act 1989 defines a child as “a person under the age of eighteen”. Their duties do not end at 16.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, the statutory guidance for England, says it applies “to all children up to the age of 18 years”, whether they live with their families, in state care or independently. So a 16 or 17 year old can still be the subject of child protection enquiries or a child protection plan.
What does change with age is narrower. Some court powers stop at 17, and a young person of 16 or over has more say in their own accommodation. Support for care leavers and adult social care are separate duties that can carry on after 18.
How long do social services stay involved?
There is no fixed length for social services involvement as a whole. It depends on the stage, and the guidance sets timescales for some steps and review dates for others, rather than one end date.
Our social services investigation guide walks through each step, including when social services get involved and how long an investigation takes. This table shows when each stage or order ends, and who makes that decision.
The table draws on Working Together 2026, and sections 17, 20, 31 and 91 and Schedule 3 of the Children Act 1989.
Stages, orders and ages at a glance
| Stage, order or age | How long it lasts | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Early help or Family Help | No end date in the guidance. It is voluntary and needs consent. | The family and the lead practitioner, unless significant harm is a concern. |
| Assessment and child in need support (England) | A decision on next steps within 45 working days of referral. Section 17 support has no set end date. | The lead practitioner and a manager. |
| Section 47 enquiries | The assessment for the enquiries has the same 45 working day limit. If significant harm concerns are confirmed, a conference follows within 15 working days of the strategy discussion. | The local authority. |
| Child protection plan | Reviews within three months, then at most every six months. It should end once the child is no longer at risk of significant harm. | The review conference. |
| Section 20 accommodation (England) | No set end date. A person with parental responsibility can usually remove the child at any time. | That person, or a consenting young person of 16 or over. |
| Care proceedings | Within 26 weeks of the application, extended only where the court considers it necessary to resolve the case justly. | The court. |
| Supervision order | One year, extendable to three years, never beyond 18. | The court. |
| Care order | Until 18, unless ended earlier. | The court. |
| Child turns 16 | Duties continue. In England, the young person can agree to accommodation despite a parent’s objection. | The young person. |
| Child turns 17 | No new care or supervision order (16 if married). Existing orders carry on. | Fixed by law. |
| Child turns 18 | No longer a child. A care order ends; a child protection plan ends at a review around the birthday. | Fixed by law and guidance. |
When do social services stop being involved and close a case?
A case closes when the council decides it needs to take no further action, or when support steps down to a lower level. The council should tell you why: the guidance says it should record its reasons and share them with the child, the family and the practitioners involved.
Closure often happens in steps, so one stage ending may not mean social services stop being involved altogether. When a section 47 enquiry or a child protection plan ends, the lead practitioner should consider what support the child still needs. Under Working Together 2026, that can mean Family Help (which can include support under section 17), or universal or early help services.
For that reason, ask for the position in writing. A short email is enough: has the council closed the case, or has it moved to another service, and who is your contact now? If section 47 enquiries end without a court application, the council must also consider whether to review the case later, and set a date if it decides to.
A closed case can open again, because the section 47 duty applies whenever the council has reasonable cause to suspect significant harm. The council will also still hold its records. You have a right to access personal data about you, usually within one month, although the council can withhold some information.
Can I refuse social services involvement or tell them to stop?
You can say no to voluntary support, but you cannot end a section 47 duty by refusing to take part. It matters which of the two you are in, so ask if you are unsure.
Family Help is, in the words of the guidance, “a voluntary approach, requiring the family’s consent”. That covers targeted early help and child in need support under section 17. If you do not consent to a Family Help assessment, practitioners should try to understand why and consider how the child’s needs could otherwise be met. However, if there are concerns of significant harm, they should refer to children’s social care immediately.
Section 47 works differently. Where the council has reasonable cause to suspect significant harm, it must make the enquiries it considers necessary. The law does not make those enquiries depend on your consent. Stepping back can also raise concern, because the council may see no other way to check on the child’s welfare.
None of this should stop you asking for help. The guidance says that if a family has chosen not to engage in the past, that “should not act as a barrier” to support in the future. You can disagree, too. You can respond to the section 47 report, or go to a child protection conference, and put your view, so that it goes on the record.
What age do social services stop getting involved: 16, 17 or 18?
The duties continue at 16 and 17, but a few specific rules change. For children’s plans and orders, social services stop getting involved at age 18 at the latest, because the young person is then no longer a child under the Children Act. Other support can begin at that point.
- In England, at 16, a young person can agree to section 20 accommodation themselves, so a parent’s objection does not stop it. The council must also accommodate a child in need of 16 or over if it considers that, without accommodation, their welfare is likely to be seriously prejudiced. The council must find out the young person’s wishes first, so far as it can.
- At 17, a court cannot make a new care order or supervision order. For a married child, the limit is 16. An order made earlier carries on, and enquiries under section 47 can still happen.
- At 18, a care order ends under section 91(12). A child protection plan should end with a review around the birthday, planned in advance.
A disabled young person, or one with long-term needs, may move across to adult services. The guidance says councils should plan this transition in advance. In England, section 58 of the Care Act 2014 requires an assessment where a child is likely to have care and support needs after 18, if it would be of significant benefit and the consent condition is met.
The council may also owe support after 18 to young people who have been in care. For example, section 23C keeps a personal adviser in place until 21 for those it covers, and in England a care leaver can ask for that support to continue up to 25 under section 23CZB. Our page on care leavers sets out that support.
What if you live in Wales?
If you live in Wales, do not rely on the section 17 and section 20 points above. Part 3 of the Children Act 1989 now covers local authorities in England, and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 covers meeting care and support needs in Wales. Working Together is guidance for England, so its timescales do not apply there either. Councils in Wales follow the Wales Safeguarding Procedures.
What if a court order is in place?
A court order lasts until it runs out or the court ends it, so a social worker cannot end it by closing a file. With a care order, the order usually lasts until 18, and leaving care support can continue after that. Check which order you have, because a care order and a supervision order work very differently. If proceedings are still running, the court should decide them within 26 weeks of the application, unless it extends that time.
Where care proceedings end in a care order, it continues until the child is 18 unless a court ends it earlier. Under section 39, anyone with parental responsibility, the child or the council can apply to discharge it. A later application within six months of the last one being decided needs the court’s permission. Our guide to discharging a care order explains what the court looks for.
A supervision order lasts one year. The supervisor can ask the court to extend it, but not beyond three years from the date it was made. In the meantime, a person with parental responsibility, the child or the supervisor can apply to vary or discharge it.
What age do social services stop getting involved in your situation?
The answer turns on your child’s age and your stage. These three questions show what would normally end it.
Three quick questions
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 now.
When do social services stop being involved for you?
Your result appears here.
Safety comes first. Call 999 if the child is in immediate danger. Otherwise, contact the council’s children’s social care team straight away, or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
Early help. Voluntary, with no end date in the guidance. It normally stops when you no longer need or agree to it. A concern of significant harm means a referral to children’s social care instead. Next, ask what the plan aims to achieve and when the next review is.
Child in need. Support under section 17 has no set end date and needs your consent. A concern of significant harm leads to section 47 enquiries instead. It normally ends when the plan has met its aims. Next, ask in writing what would close it.
Child protection plan. This normally ends when a review finds the child is no longer at risk of significant harm. Reviews run at most six months apart. Next, ask what must change before the next review.
Court order. Only the court can end it early. A care order runs to 18, and a supervision order lasts one year unless extended. Next, check which order you have.
Under 16. A 16th birthday will not end this. It ends when the stage or order ends.
Aged 16. The duties continue until 18. Your child’s own wishes now carry more weight, including on section 20 accommodation in England.
Aged 17. A court cannot make a new care or supervision order now. Section 47 duties continue until 18, and an existing order runs its course.
Aged 18 or over. No longer a child under the Children Act, so a care or supervision order ends, and a child protection plan ends at a review around the birthday. Next, ask about care leaver support or adult social care.
What this cannot tell you
Whether your council has closed your case, or which court application fits your facts. In Wales, different law covers early help and child in need support: see your rights in Wales.
How do I challenge how long social services stay involved?
Start with a written request that asks what must change for involvement to end. If that does not work, use the council’s formal complaints procedure, then the Ombudsman.
- Write to the social worker and their manager. Ask which stage the case is at, what still worries them, and what progress would close it.
- Ask for your records, using your right to access personal data. Our guide to complaining about social services covers the next steps.
- Use the complaints procedure every council in England must have for a child in need or looked after. In England, the council must try to resolve the complaint at the first stage within 10 working days, or up to 10 more if it considers the complaint complex.
- If you are still unhappy, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at complaints about councils in England, free of charge. In Wales, go to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.
- Seek legal advice early if there is a plan you disagree with, or if anyone has mentioned court.
Meanwhile, keep going to meetings and keep to the plan where it is safe to do so. A complaint is a way to test a decision, and it works best when the record shows you stayed involved.
Frequently asked questions
Can social services get involved with a 16 year old?
Yes. A 16 year old is still a child under the Children Act 1989, so assessments, section 47 enquiries and child protection plans can all apply. A court can also still make a care order or supervision order at 16, except for a married young person, but not once they reach 17.
How long can social services keep a case open?
No law sets a single limit. A child protection plan keeps going for as long as reviews find it necessary, and child in need support lasts while the plan is in place. If you feel it has gone on too long, ask in writing what must change for it to close.
Can you refuse to let social services see your child?
Refusing does not end section 47 enquiries. The council must take reasonable steps to see the child unless it already has enough information. If its officer is refused access to the child, section 47(6) requires it to apply for an order such as an emergency protection order, unless it is satisfied the child’s welfare can be safeguarded without one.
Does involvement end if we move to another area?
Not automatically. If a family moves permanently while a child is on a child protection plan, the new council should hold a conference within 15 working days of hearing about the move, and the old council can only end its plan after that. For a child in need, the new council should consider whether the child still needs support.
“A birthday rarely decides when social services will step back. Ask what would need to change for this plan to end, and ask for that in writing. Keep going to meetings, even the hard ones, and keep your own short notes. If you feel it has run too long, raise it early and calmly, because a clear request is easier to act on.”
Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist, Kabir Family Law
Do you need help getting social services involvement to end?
A family law specialist can read your plan or order and tell you what would normally bring it to an end. In practice, social services stop well before age 18 at most stages. A care order is the main exception, because it runs to 18 unless a court ends it earlier.
Talk it through before the next meeting. The child’s safety comes first. After that, the costly mistakes are to wait for a birthday that changes little, or to stop engaging while a section 47 duty still applies. Book a free initial consultation.
