Your questions

Having trouble using Be My Parent? We're here to help agencies get started!

Do also check out our sections for families, which aim to answer queries about using Be My Parent, as well as frequently asked questions about the online service.

Mother and daughter
General questions about Be My Parent
Questions about the newspaper
Questions about the online service

How do I use the online service?

If you're interested in using the Be My Parent website and placing a child's profile on the website, please contact us for further information. Also see our guidance to referring a child.

How do I know the Be My Parent website is safe and secure?

For information on privacy and security, please see our privacy and security statement and privacy policy.

How secure are the children's video clips?

The video clips of children included in Be My Parent profiles are secure. They are not cached, i.e. they are not stored or saved anywhere automatically when viewed. In addition, it's not possible to, for instance, right click on the video clip to save it. The video is also downloaded gradually whilst it is being played, which makes copying or editing it impossible without sophisticated software.

What information should be included in the profile?

It’s always good to start off with the child’s personality – whether they are quiet, thoughtful, active, lively, etc. This helps show each child’s individuality and bring them to life. It’s also a good idea to mention the child’s interests, hobbies, activities and talents. With young babies or disabled children, mention how they communicate and respond to carers, favourite toys, music or noises. Do not include a physical description of the child unless there are special reasons to do so.

More information on writing profiles

Is there a word limit on children’s profiles on the website?

The advantage of web profiles is that there is no space limitation, which gives you the opportunity to say a lot more about a child. However, quality is usually better than quantity! Providing information in all the above categories should give a fairly complete picture of the child.

Remember that you have the opportunity to provide quotes from the child, their foster carers, teachers or social worker, which will make the profile lively and stand out. We would recommend a maximum word count of 500 words for an individual child, and 900 words for a sibling group.

Don’t forget that if you are opting to feature children in the open area of the website, you will need to provide us with a short profile which will appear with the child’s thumbnail photograph in that area. This should be no longer than 50 words.

Is there a word limit on children's profiles in the newspaper?

In the newspaper, individual children can be featured as either a standard profile (one space with 175 words) or an enhanced profile (two spaces with 350 words). There is ,also the opportunity to feature children in a half or full-page space. The word counts for these depend very much on the design of the profile. More information on word limits for half and full page profiles (155 KB)

Also take a look at our guidance on the length of profiles for agencies.

Why are there three different areas of children’s profiles?

Children’s profiles can be featured in one of three areas:

Open area – all visitors to the website can see a thumbnail photo and short profile of the child. They are then encouraged to subscribe to view the full profile, see a video clip if there is one, and possibly make an enquiry.
Subscribers’ area – only subscribed families can view full children’s profiles and enquire. Enquirers provide details about themselves, which are passed on to referring social workers. We check their credit card details against the address they provide, and also that their card is registered in the UK. Subscribers include all families interested in adoption or permanent fostering, from people making their first enquiry about the process, to those waiting to be approved, or already approved.
CRB area – only subscribers who have had a successful CRB or police check, carried out by their adoption or fostering agency as part of their ongoing or finalised assessment, can view the children’s profiles in that area and make enquiries. Be My Parent verifies all police checks with the relevant agency.

We can advise you on which area to feature a child in but the final decision is yours. If a child has been waiting a long time, it may be best to give them maximum exposure in the open area. If there are any legal factors or issues with birth parents, you may want to consider the CRB area.

You can always change the area the child is featured in at any stage if their profile has not generated sufficient enquiries. For further information, please contact us.

How much freedom do agencies have over what goes onto the website?

Social workers are encouraged to be creative in writing children’s profiles and to provide more photographs and other images, such as drawings. Be My Parent will continue to edit and approve children’s profiles to ensure that best social work practice and house style are adhered to.

Does it cost more to include a video clip and how do you send it in?

There is no extra cost for using a video clip on the Be My Parent website. However, all video clips must comply with our guidelines in terms of format, technical specifications and good social work practice. For a single child, the preferred length for a video clip is 3 to 5 minutes. Sibling group video clips may last up to 7 minutes.

We recommend that you send video clips to Be My Parent through the post in DVD or CD-ROM format.

If the video clip does not meet the Be My Parent standards of privacy and security of the child, or of image quality, we may ask you to edit or replace it, or we may decide not to use it if you are unable to provide a suitable alternative.

Professional film companies can be commissioned to make a film, or they can edit any existing film footage you have, and ensure it meets our criteria.

What happens to my referral after I've sent it?

A lot of work goes into processing your referral. Find out more about the 'day in the life of a referral' or see our information on how we process a referral once we receive it.

Will people who see a child in the paper know that they are also featured on the website?

Yes. There will an icon in the newspaper next to the relevant children to indicate that they are also featured on the website. Remember there is likely to be more information, additional pictures and perhaps a video clip of the child, on the web.

How strict are the newspaper deadlines?

Because of the high volume of referrals received, we strongly recommend that you send your referral by the referral deadlines, by special delivery or by fax to arrive by midnight. We try to be as flexible as possible regarding referrals received after the deadline but we cannot guarantee that they will be included in that month's issue.

Repeat profiles with no changes: It may be possible to include these right until proof stage, depending on space available. We will let you know what is possible when we receive your referral.

Other profiles: Priority will be given to those referrals that arrive by the deadline. The most important thing is to send your referral form with details regarding the child/ren, as well as the size of the feature, number of months, and whether print and web, or print only, so we can ensure that we book the necessary space in the issue. We can accept the text of the profile a couple of days after the deadline if necessary, and there is also flexibility regarding photographs.

If you think you may be unable to meet the referral deadline for any reason, please call us as soon as possible pn 020 7421 2666 to discuss your needs and what may be possible.

What is a superuser?

Every agency needs to be set up on the Be My Parent system. Each agency also needs a 'superuser' who will have access to the agency’s Be My Parent account, and can provide general administration, such as adding social workers, changing passwords, etc.

We advise that the superuser from your agency is somebody who is office-based, preferably full time, and has broadband Internet and email access. The superuser can add all the social workers from your agency and set you up with office email addresses and passwords, so you can then log in.

We can set up a superuser on the phone - it's very easy and won't take long. Your superuser can be either a team manager or administrator, or someone else of your choice. Please contact us if your agency is not yet set up.

What do I do when I receive an online enquiry?

Although you can respond to the family directly through the contact details supplied in the email you received, it is recommended that you are set up to use the online system. Here you can get a lot more information about the families enquiring, such as their ethnicity, location and a supporting statement.

Read our guidance on managing enquiries.

Why can’t I delete a social worker from our online agency account?

All children’s profiles have to be attached to a referring social worker. Therefore, if a social worker has a child profile attached to their name in the system, it will not be possible to delete that social worker until you have transferred or ‘reassigned’ the child profile to another social worker. To do this go to Social worker profiles followed by View details and then Reassign.

Can I put a child ‘on hold’ so I don’t get any more direct enquiries?

To help you manage enquiries for children you have featured in the newspaper, especially when you are receiving a large number or the child's circumstances change, you can choose to 'screen' enquiries or put them 'on hold'.

For children in the newspaper, that means being put on a 'reserve list'. We continue to collect basic information from enquiring families, and later pass these on to you, but we do not give out your details, so families cannot contact you directly. Please contact us to implement this. We will need something in writing (e.g. an email) to confirm the request.

For children on the website, we are working on refining our database so that we can offer you a similar option. At the moment, however, we do not offer this service. Please instead see our guidance on managing enquiries for some useful tips.

How long will it take for my web referral to be live on the site?

Web referrals can be live on the website in as little as one working week, providing there are no issues with the referral (for instance, regarding consent).

For 'web and newspaper' referrals, we aim to have the web referral live approximately three weeks before the newspaper is published.

Please see our deadlines for details of newspaper publication dates.

If you still can't find what you're looking for, try using the search box in the top right-hand corner. Remember: you can always refer to our site map for a general overview of the website.

Or why not get in touch and we can try to help you?

Last updated: 28 February 11

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