In My View - Mum's not the word

Knowing the fathers helps you do better by children. Fathers are routinely overlooked as both risk and resource, with failure to identify and engage with them contributing substantially to child abuse and even deaths.

You are legally permitted to record information that the mother (or anyone else) provides about the father - and any father figure - even when he is not present, has not given permission, lives separately, isn't married to the mother and has no Parental Responsibility.This is covered by the same data protection law as covers credit cards.

In our opinion, the best way to obtain the father's details is to:

1. Invite both parents to any home visit or meeting ('Dear mum and dad', not 'Dear parent(s)'). This will dramatically increase the number of fathers you see.

2. Where the father fails to appear, routinely ask the mother for his contact details.

3. If necessary, explain that this will enable you to find him in emergencies, update him on his child's progress, invite him to important events, and so on. If the mother still hesitates, note it, because this could indicate an important vulnerability.

4. Verify the father's details either by giving the mother a 'Consent to Contact' form (see our website) or by contacting him direct - which gives a great reason to get in touch. Explain how you obtained his details and why you want to hold them, but offer to remove them if that is what he wants.

• Adrienne Burgess, director of research at the Fatherhood Institute.

FURTHER INFORMATION

This information has been checked with the DCSF (now DfE), Department of Health lawyers and the Government Information Commissioner's Office. Contact the Fatherhood Institute at www.fatherhoodinstitute.org.