The Social Work Evidence
16.The initial Social Work Evidence Template was provided by a social worker who described the situation in the family in early 2020. It is clear that T was at risk of very significant ill health as a result of the parents being unable to identify the fact that he was unwell. A particular incident occurred on 13 February 2020, when a community nurse visited T, she found him “waxy” in appearance. Her view was that if her visit had been thirty minutes later, T could have died. This was not challenged.17.That social worker identified the learning difficulties the parents experienced, Mother has an IQ of sixty-two and significant limitations which deem her to experience a learning difficulty. Father has an IQ of sixty-three which, again, presents in almost entirely global impairment. As a result of this, the hearing has proceeded with the benefit of an intermediary as far as Father is concerned.18.The social worker presented a full picture of the inability of the parents to care particularly for T. The father responded as early as 16 February 2021, accepting the difficulties and stated at paragraph 53 of his statement:-"In respect of my precious and much-loved son, T, it is with great sadness that I'm compelled to accept that T has a range of complex and changing needs that nothing but a specialist placement with professional carers can provide the love, care and attention he deserves."19.Again, very bravely, Mother made a statement very shortly after in very similar terms. 20.Moving on, a second social worker (‘the allocated social worker’), and the social worker who has been involved for the majority of this case, became involved. She described in her witness statement of 24 February 2022, that the Dudley Lodge assessment ended up as unsuccessful after three months with the parents consistently struggling to meet V's needs. Her view for T was that his needs would be best met living in a family setting. Her view is that T, like any child his age, should have the opportunity to be cared for in a family setting without the intrusion of the local authority in his life. The conclusion was that the LA proposed adoption as a final care plan. 21.It was accepted by the allocated social worker that T would need ongoing support from disability services and adult social care. Whilst this was the evidence of the allocated social worker, it was supported by the team manager, the Head of Service and the Independent Reviewing Officer. This proposal was ratified further by the Agency Decision Maker and so, it is a corporate decision. 22.Further information was provided by the team manager who brought the situation up to date in a witness statement from July of this year. This reported T had been in hospital for two weeks in July as a result of respiratory problems, that Mother had met the prospective foster carers, the foster carers were based in South-West of England and they were delighted at the prospect of caring for T and, indeed, had already begun to love him. It is clear the social work team had done a huge amount of work looking at a safe process for T's transfer to this new placement.23.I should at this point say, no one is saying that this placement is not a placement which should be very actively considered and which, on the face of it, has very significant merits. These are people who have been foster carers for seventeen years and have adopted ten children with varying disabilities. The Children’s Guardian has some residual concerns about some elements of the assessment of these potential carers, based predominantly on the extent of T's disabilities, but it is accepted for the purposes of today that the mode of direction of travel is for these people to care for T, and the real issue for me to decide is the mode of the care, be it through endorsing a plan of adoption or under a care plan with long-term foster care.