“I hope it will be apparent that this analysis does not apportion blame. The family, commissioners and health and social care providers are all affected by the dynamic context in which they are trying to do their best. Rather than looking to change the parents, I recommend a systemic intervention drawn from organisational psychology, psychodynamic psychotherapy, group analysis and systems theory. The intervention would assist all agencies and the parents to understand the dynamic processes that have led to the current difficulties, to step back from mutual blame and recrimination, to establish working practices which will contain and diminish sensitivities and optimise collaboration between the different parts of the system. (my emphasis) I recommend that an organisational or a systemic supervisor/consultant is employed to work with the system and facilitate systemic meetings within which the aims set out in the paragraph above would be addressed. The involvement of the Court has radically shifted the dynamics of this system. The involvement of their legal representatives and of the Court, a neutral authority, has diluted the emotional intensity of the polarised "them and us" dynamic which previously existed between the parents and the health/care providers.”
“In this case, the ICB has sought to assist the Court and has been joined as an Intervener. It has participated with the parents and the rest of the multi-disciplinary team about the development of a reasonable bespoke plan for care for W at home with support. However, matters have now reached a point where these proceedings should be concluded.”
“(5) Where a court is considering whether or not to make one or more orders under this Act with respect to a child, it shall not make the order or any of the orders unless it considers that doing so would be better for the child than making no order at all.”
“We submit that this case falls into the first category and that it is safe for this court to conclude that it is obvious that the local authority cannot establish the threshold criteria. The key to that conclusion is in the attributability condition, as your lordship foreshadowed in your judgement of October 2021.”
“[19] It is important to emphasise that the provision “not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give” is not to be regarded as an abstract or hypothetical test but must be evaluated by reference to the circumstances the parent is confronting i.e. what would it be reasonable to expect of a parent in these particular circumstances, recognising that in a challenging situation many of us may behave in a way which might not objectively be viewed as reasonable. The test is not to be construed in a vacuum nor applied judgementally by reference to some gold standard of parenting which few (if any) could achieve. On the contrary, it contemplates a range of behaviour, incorporating inevitable human frailty. The reasonableness of the care given requires to be evaluated strictly by reference to the particular circumstances and the individual child.”