Case No. LV21C01426

84.The order that I’m going to make in respect of each of the children are care orders and orders enabling each of the children to be placed for adoption with sibling contact orders. My reasons for so doing are:85.In my judgment rehabilitating these children with their parents presents risks to their emotional welfare which cannot be managed by the local authority. I accept that the parents would very much like to have the children return to them and in default for the children to be placed in a way such that they would make rehabilitation the future more possible.86.Neither the mother nor F1 has sufficient understanding of the issues which have resulted in the children being removed from their care, to enable them safely to parent the children at this time. Placing any of the children in the care of the parents would expose them to an unmanageable risk which will be likely to cause further emotional harm to the children. It would not serve the children’s welfare to consider allowing more time to lapse while the parents are given further opportunity to develop safe parenting skills.87.It is fundamental to my decision making that this Court has great confidence in the adoption team and in particular and Miss Barton the team manager. I am satisfied that Miss Barton and her colleagues will do everything they can to ensure each of the children is placed in the best placement possible and that following placement this local authority will continue to support the placements.88.There is no order which would suffice for any of the children other than a placement order for as long as there was a realistic prospect of the children being placed within an appropriate period of time. in so far as the parents will not consent to such orders being made I consider the welfare of each child to require their parents’ consent to be dispensed with and so order. I have considered carefully the parents’ and the children’s human rights to a family life and have reflected this in the orders I am making.89.With regards to W, it would not serve his welfare needs to deny him the opportunity of being matched with the current prospective adopter. In the event however that W and the adopter are not proved to be a good match and a match cannot be found within six months, or thereabouts, the Court would endorse the local authority’s proposal to discontinue its efforts to place W in an adoption placement and to transfer those efforts into finding a long-term foster placement.90.On the question of whether X should be placed with his siblings, I have carefully considered the guardians reservations as to the sustainability of such a placement having particular regard to the threat to the stability of the placement if the children were to be placed together. I have more confidence in the local authority than the Guardian does, both with regard to the local authority’s ability to find the placement for all three children and then to support the placement. The advantages to X, Y and Z of being brought up together as a sibling unit, in my judgment, should not be denied the children simply on the basis of concerns that X may adversely affect the placement. It might be that the local authority takes a view further down the line that one of the children should be placed separately from the others be that X, Y or Z. The Court has sufficient confidence in the local authority to enable it to form its judgment and only to make an application for an adoption order when it is satisfied that such a step will serve the welfare of the children.91.I turn now to the very difficult area of sibling contact. Looking at the welfare factors I have identified above, I note that the three younger children are not of a sufficient age and understanding to express an informed view as to whether they wish to maintain contact with their siblings. W, though, is approaching his eighth birthday. There is no record of W having been asked to reflect upon being permanently separated from his siblings. If sibling contact is considered upon an application for adoption being made, I would expect W’ wishes and feelings to be obtained in an age sensitive way. For the purpose of these applications, it is therefore for the Court to assess the effect of sibling separation. Whilst the local authority has optimism that each of the children will be placed for adoption, albeit less so with W, neither the local authority nor the Court is able to predict with any degree of certainty what will be the children’s fate. This is a sibling group of two boys who have lived together since their separation from the parents and two siblings who initially lived with their brothers but then move to a placement together. Each of the siblings has a strong relationship with the others. The lack of good parenting and the effect of their parents’ inadequacies have resulted in a dynamic between the children which the research informs will be long-lasting. As I stated I do not consider myself able to rely upon the findings of the inter-sibling assessment as being definitive. I can also reasonably find that the effect of severing direct contact between the siblings or any one of them will have a dramatic effect.92.An aspect of the local authority’s stated plans which has caused me real concern is the rather uncertain position with regard to sibling contact during placement finding. My concern extends to the local authority’s emphatic refusal to countenance sibling contact following placement for adoption unless all children are placed. Without an order the children would be destined, over a relatively short period of time to have their entire sibling-dynamic fundamentally changed. In my judgment this is unsustainable in the circumstances of this case.93.In the circumstances I will make an order under section 21 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 that the children’s contact with each other remains constant and takes place in the same routine as presently exists during the existence of each child’s search for a placement under the placement order that I will make. That is the only way the children’s options regarding contact post adoption can be preserved.94.In the event of an application for adoption is made in respect of any of the children I expect the local authority to highlight to the Court at that time that post adoption contact should be very carefully considered pursuant to section 51A of the Act. The placement order will, as is commonly the case, provide for any future applications relating to the children to be adjudicated by myself if available. If I am not available, however, I trust that the local authority will remind itself of my request stated within this paragraph and ensure that a copy of this judgment is available to the presiding judge.95.I will make care and placement orders for each of the children and contact orders as explained above.