Coming to the end of court proceedings

[scaredandlonely19]

Bit of a recap as I’ve posted before - my son is under and SGO with my mother due too being removed from my care at 8 weeks old. He was removed from mine and his dads care due too marks and a break too his leg, neither of us knew anything was wrong - neither did anyone else who saw him on a regular occurrence - I phoned 111 due too noticing what looked like weird rashes on him & they sent an ambulance, upon presentation at the hospital they did X-rays and found the break, they asked me and his dad how it got there and neither of us have any idea. We went through court and it was decided that the judge couldn’t decide how the injuries occurred and who caused them and he then granted the SGO with my mum. Fast forward 6 years and I made a massively stupid mistake and slept with my sons farther - we split up after everything with my son - I also slept with someone else around the same time, ended up pregnant, social services got involved & a dna was requested and it turns out it’s my sons dad who is the farther to my daughter.

My daughter is currently with my mum on an interim care order, I’m getting the results of the parenting assessment next week & im dreading it as honestly I feel like they will say they recommend she doesn’t return back to my care & I think the judge will then agree with that decision as that’s what the SW recommended. I’ve already said I’ll be contesting it if that’s the case but I just wondered if anyone has been through anything similar & can help with a bit of advice? Did anyone have the SW recommend the child returns home but the judge didn’t agree or the SW recommend the child doesn’t come home but the judge disagree?

I’ve had the family group conference and have got a good 24/7 support plan in place so I won’t be on my own with her as this is what the SW asked for as it would be recommended if she is to return home that she returns home under 24/7 supervision for at least 12 months & it will be reviewed & depending on how everything is going it will potentially change & I’ll be allowed time with her where I don’t have to have someone with me - this will be reviewed and changed as it needs to be over the next few years - it’s also going to be tested for a few weeks before the next court hearing which is a IRH hearing but likely to become the final hearing.

I’m not too sure what I want from this post just my heads in overdrive now waiting for the parenting assessment to come back, I’m terrified there going to say no & im going too loose her, I’m not with the father of my kids & we haven’t even seen each other, let alone spoken too each other since the end of June. I know my daughter is safe with me but I do understand there view of it all & I’ve said this, I just want to prove to them I am a good mum & she is safe but I’m terrified there not going too give me a chance after what happened with my son - which I understand but it’s hard knowing I didn’t hurt him & I don’t know how the injuries got there.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Scaredandlonely19

Thank you for posting again on the parents’ discussion forum.

I see from your post that you are coming to the conclusion of care proceedings and the next hearing will be the Issues Resolution Hearing (IRH). You are very worried about the outcome of the case and whether your daughter will be returned to your care.

The recommendations made in your parenting assessment will be important as this assessment is to identify if you can safely care for your daughter. One important factor will, I think, be whether you are separated from your children’s father and able to maintain this separation. I say this based on what you have set out in your post.

The judge will consider all the evidence and, since you are challenging the local authority’s case, your legal representative will be able to advise you once all the evidence has been filed with the court. Decisions about your daughter’s long-term care will be decided on what the judge decides is best for her as her welfare is the paramount consideration.

As you may be aware the children’s guardian will also be making recommendations to the court, but the final decision will be for he judge to make. It is possible for the judge to reach a decision which is not what children’s services recommend but your solicitor who has all the information about your case would be able to give you advice specific to your case. It is possible for a child to be placed with a parent under a care order or a supervision order. You mention that you have a good support network and the kind of support you might need has been considered by children’s services.

I suggest you have a discussion with your solicitor about the concerns that you have relating to the recommendation from the parenting assessment.

Here a link to information on our website relating to care proceedings

If you wish to speak to an adviser, you can telephone our free confidential advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday. (excluding Bank Holidays)

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes

Suzie