Latest News - October 2009

50% rise in applications to take children into care

Since the death of Baby Peter there has been a record 50% rise in the number of applications to take children into care.

In the wake of the tragic death of Baby Peter, there have been a growing number of parents across Britain who have faced losing their children after challenging the judgement of doctors, teachers and / or social workers.

John Hemming MP, and coordinator of the Justice for Families Campaign, warned last month that child protection proceedings are being used as punishment for "uppity parents". Jean Robinson, of the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services, confirms that "parents who question or criticise professionals about their child's care risk being referred to social services for investigation".

Parents of children with special educational needs may, more than most, find themselves encountering difficulties with the authorities. Unfortunately, those pursuing better provisions for their children sometimes face child protection concerns once they have taken action to try and get improved services.

A case study on the Maxwell Gillott website describes the case of "Steph", who has severe autism. The family appealed to the Special Needs and Disability Tribunal (SEND) seeking a residential school placement and challenged social care over a failure to provide services to meet needs. Social Services then applied to the family law courts for an order that Steph should be taken into care. Although ultimately they were unsuccessful as there was no evidence that Steph was at risk, the ordeal caused a great deal of distress to the family. Under pressure from the courts, and with Maxwell Gillott on board, the authority finally agreed to fund Steph's placement at the residential school. Maxwell Gillott then went on to help the family make a formal complaint about how the authority handled the case. The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) upheld the complaint; asking the authority to apologise, review procedure and make a financial award for the distress caused.

On a different but related point, in another case Maxwell Gillott acted for a mother whose 2 children were already in care. The authority sought a family law court order preventing any independent experts (educational psychologist etc.) from assessing the children on the basis that such assessments would amount to "over assessment" and damage the children. However, without such assessments the fight for better special educational provision was seriously weakened. The High Court overturned the order, and the children went on to receive the provision they needed, but cases such as these highlight the extreme and devastating ways in which authorities occasionally react to parents doing nothing more than trying to get the right support for their children, by exercising their legal rights and trying to do the best for their child.

If or someone you know is suffering a similar plight, then please contact Maxwell Gillott Solicitors on 01524 596080 / 0845 456 6803 or e-mail office@mglaw.co.uk for more information on how we may be able to assist.

To find out more about how we can help you, please contact Maxwell Gillott Solicitors.