Our Services

The Immigration Assessment Service provide specialist social work assessments and direct‑work interventions for immigration, asylum, and human rights cases. Our practice is grounded in trauma‑informed, child‑centred, and rights‑based principles, ensuring every assessment is robust, fair, and aligned with statutory and case‑law expectations.

Age Assessments

Our age assessments are Merton‑compliant, balanced, and evidence‑based. We draw on:

  • Merton guidance and subsequent case law

  • The SAEF framework to ensure holistic assessment and analysis

  • Developmental, cultural and psychosocial indicators

  • Trauma informed interviewing and analysis

We provide clear, well-reasoned analysis and conclusions that reflect the young person’s lived experience, cultural background and vulnerabilities. Our approach prioritises dignity, fairness and procedural transparency

Best Interest Assessments

We complete holistic best‑interest assessments for children and young people, grounded in:

  • The rights of the child

  • International and domestic best‑interest principles

  • A child‑centred analysis of safety, welfare, identity, development, and long‑term outcomes

These assessments support decision‑making in immigration, asylum, and family contexts, ensuring that the child’s voice, needs, and rights remain central.

Our reunification assessments explore whether returning a child or young person to family members is safe, appropriate, and in their best interests. We consider:

  • Family relationships and dynamics

  • Protective and risk factors

  • Cultural, emotional, and developmental needs

  • The child’s wishes, feelings, and long‑term wellbeing

Our work is child‑centred, balanced, and grounded in safeguarding principles.

Reunification Assessments

Human Rights Assessments

We provide structured, rights‑based assessments for care leavers and families facing immigration or NRPF‑related challenges. These assessments are:

  • Fair, transparent, and human‑rights focused

  • Informed by vulnerability, welfare, and safeguarding considerations

  • Sensitive to trauma, instability, and the impact of disrupted support networks

We analyse needs holistically, including accommodation, education, health, emotional wellbeing, and the consequences of withdrawal of support and whether human rights breaches may be present.

Direct work with young people

Alongside formal assessments, we offer therapeutic and practical direct‑work interventions, including:

  • Life story work; supporting children and young people to understand their journeys, identity, and experiences in a safe, structured way.

  • Ongoing social work intervention; providing continuity, emotional support, and practical guidance during periods of instability or transition.

  • Specialist support for looked after children and care leavers; helping young adults navigate independence, identity, trauma, and complex immigration processes.

Our direct work is relational, strengths‑based, and grounded in trauma‑informed practice.