Where are sibling relationships on the long list of professional duties arising from the making of Care Orders?

We have all heard professionals say that sibling contact will be ‘top of the agenda’, that professionals will do their utmost and that no stone will be left unturned.

But what happens, when the worst happens.

A sibling group in foster care under an approved care plan separated not by design or approved care plan but instead by developments long after the ink on the Care Orders is dry.

The worst, a placement breakdown, challenging behaviours or emotional problems some of which perhaps foreseeable, mean foster carers give notice, on one or all of a sibling group.

Vulnerable children facing yet another breakdown, the first from their mother and father and the next, perhaps most tragically from their sibling. The person with whom they have likely experienced such hardships and harms that led to them entering the care system.

Their bond, maybe greater than ever because of those circumstances unique to their journey into care.

What can be done…

With a national shortage on placements, there can be no guarantees that siblings will stay together. The Court and Parliament entrust public bodies with the acute sensitivities of care planning in these complex and challenging situations.

But what of current legislation requiring Judges to undertake a detailed analytical view of the welfare checklist of each child before coming to final conclusions on care planning approvals. This requiring considerations such as the ‘ascertainable wishes and feelings’ of the child and ‘the likely effect on him of any change in circumstances’ … is this not enough?

Perhaps it’s not, the Court cannot crystal ball gaze, but more simply assess the evidence and range of ‘realistic options available to it at the time.

So, what of the headline: New legislation to keep brothers and sisters connected in care, the soundbites are good but will it have teeth. Only time will tell.

Talk of Local Authorities being positively obligated to do all they can, for siblings and half-siblings, can only be a good thing, right? We hope so.

The amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was welcomed in the House of Lords on Wednesday 25 March, following continued discussions with stakeholders and parliamentarians. Final confirmation is expected following further debate in the House of Commons after Easter.

This change forms part of the government’s wider work to reform children’s social care and ensure that every child has the opportunity to grow up in a stable, loving environment.

The Government Press release includes some personal experience on this, which really hits home as to the true value of these lifelong sibling relationships. If you looked at your sibling today, happy, sad, angry or mad, could you really live without them? We couldn’t, why should children in care.

Chris Hoyle, who was in the care system as a child, said:
After being initially separated, being reunited with my brother in the same foster placement changed my life. My brother is the longest relationship I have ever had, by some distance. How do you define the value of that? How do you put a price on still being in contact with the person who loved you first? I can’t.

Jonny is a rock in my life. A 6’2 rock who supports the wrong football team. He keeps me grounded in my identity and provides a safety net that has lasted a lifetime.

The Department for Education once called us ‘The Hoyle Brothers’. We are a package deal thanks to the bravery of senior staff who decided that sharing a bedroom was not worth losing something that cannot be bought.

Wherever it is safe and possible, the relationships of siblings in care should be a priority. Those relationships can last a lifetime and are priceless.

If those words don’t count, whose do?

Well, the Government tell us, that funding is available for this, let’s hope so. They say:

…£10.8 million for an expansion of Regional Care Co-operatives to enable better placement planning for children in care.

The DfE is also supporting more siblings in care to stay together with ambitious plans to create 10,000 more foster care places, backed by a total investment of £88m, including £25m to expand existing foster carers’ homes so they can foster more children, including sibling groups.

This is on top of £2.4 billion of investment in the Families First Partnership Programme to help keep families together through early intervention, a pilot for financial support for kinship carers, and reforms to support for adoptive families.

As Local Authority and Children’s lawyers, here at Cygnet we hope this emphasis is more than a gloss, more than a sheen on the current legislation but instead a positive power and move for the protection of sibling groups.

To Parliament, we say, hear hear!