England and Wales Magistrates' Court (Family)

1.

We are considering an application by X Local Authority for care orders in respect of four children, MW who is almost seven years old, ND who is five and a half years of age, D who is just over four years of age, and M who is just over two years old.  The children’s mother is Ms T, the father of MW and ND is Mr S.  The father of D is believed to be Mr W and M’s father’s details are not known to the Local Authority.

2.

The Local Authority invites the court to conclude this case today.  The matter is listed for an adjourned issues resolutions hearing but the Local Authority submits that because of the discussions which have taken place today all the issues have now been resolved and final orders can be made.  We are invited to make the specific findings sought in the document filed at page 22 of the court bundle in respect of the threshold criteria.  This document is agreed by all the parties.  The Authority asks us to finalise the case today by making Special Guardianship Orders in respect of all four children in favour of Ms B.  These orders will replace the residence orders and interim supervision orders which are currently in force.

3.

Mr W does not have parental responsibility for D he would however be entitled to notice of the proceedings.  Since the commencement of these proceedings attempts have been made to locate Mr W but all these attempts have been unsuccessful.  He has had no recent contact or involvement in his son’s life and his current whereabouts are not known.   Without any further information the Local Authority are unable to identify M’s father.  The parties urge us to finalise this case today it is not in any of the children’s interests to further adjourn and in all the circumstances of this case we are satisfied that it is appropriate to proceed today without notice having been given to Mr W. 

4.

Mr S is a party to the proceedings, he is named on ND’s birth certificate as her father and therefore has parental responsibility for her, however even though he is named on MW’s birth certificate as her father her birth was registered before the relevant date for him to automatically acquire parental responsibility for her.  Mr S has not attended court today but through his solicitor Ms R we have been informed that he agrees with the proposed placement and orders for his children.  He has regular telephone contact with them and direct contact also takes place.  MW and ND have a half sister called B who lives with Mr S.

5.

Also a party to these proceedings is Ms B, Ms T’s maternal aunt, who has attended court and is represented by Ms S.  Ms B is effectively caring for the children and their mother and the orders that we will be invited to make by consent today will legally reflect the actual current position.  Ms B agrees to the making of a Special Guardianship Order in her favour in respect of all four children.  Ms B has shown herself to be very capable of providing good care to all the children.  It is accepted that during the last two years difficulties have arisen but she has shown great commitment to the children and has made a well considered decision regarding what is best for them.

6.

Ms T has attended court today and is represented by Ms G she through her solicitor supports the making of the Special Guardianship Orders in respect of her children to Ms B and it is her intention to remain living within that family household.  Ms T has been assessed as unable to care for her children but we note from the papers that Ms T understands what a Special Guardianship Order means and she is happy to share responsibility for the children with Ms B.

7.

The children themselves are represented through the Children’s Guardian Ms P who fully supports the application and the placement for the children.

8.

We have considered the documents filed in this case and listened to the parties’ submissions.  We have been assisted today by the parties reaching an agreement in respect of all disputed matters and presenting this case to us on a consent basis.  The history of Social Care’s involvement with this family and their concerns is fully set out in all the documents filed in this case.  We can see no purpose in rehearsing that evidence in these reasons except to say that we rely upon it to be satisfied that the threshold criteria are met.  The concerns surround Ms T’s inability to provide a consistent and adequate level of care because of her own degree of learning difficulty.

9.

Having considered the evidence we are satisfied that the threshold criteria are met and that there is evidence within the court papers to support the specific findings sought by the Local Authority which we therefore make.

10.

We now turn to the need for an order and the type of order.  In reaching our decision we have considered as we must all relevant welfare criteria as is required of us under the Children Act.  We remind ourselves that it is each child’s welfare that must be our paramount concern and that we should take the least interventionist approach that is appropriate to safeguard their needs.  The Guardian in her report has comprehensively addressed the welfare checklist paragraphs 30 – 49.  We fully endorse her findings in this regard and adopt them as our reasons without addition or amendment.

11.

We have had sight of the special guardianship reports prepared by Social Care.  At court today a number of discussions took place in order to finalize some of the areas of concern raised by the Children’s Guardian in the Special Guardianship Support Plan.  The areas of concern surrounded financial support for continuing education, financial support for further legal proceedings and continued family support from the Local Authority.  The solicitor for the Local Authority Ms B has undertaken to have the agreed amendments inserted into the care/support plans for the children and to circulate final versions of these documents to all parties and the court. 

12.

Like the parties at court today we would commend Ms B for the work that she has already undertaken and her commitment to Ms T and her children for the foreseeable future.  All the professionals acknowledge how the children have improved since she became their carer and how the family appears to be well settled and the children’s needs are being well met and they appear to be thriving. 

13.

Having considered the evidence we agree with the parties that the most appropriate orders in this case are Special Guardianship Orders in favour of Ms B.  Accordingly we make such an order in respect of each of the four children and in doing so we approve the Local Authority’s care plan and support package for the family.

14.

There are no issues in respect of the arrangements for contact between Mr S and his children and therefore we make no order in this regard.

15.

Heard before Lay Magistrates on the March 2010.