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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Family Court Decisions (other Judges) >> R (young parents) [2015] EWFC B92 (15 May 2015) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/OJ/2015/B92.html Cite as: [2015] EWFC B92 |
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B e f o r e :
(In Private)
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S COUNTY COUNCIL | Applicant | |
- and - | ||
(1) MISS X | First Respondent | |
(2) MR Y | Second Respondent | |
(3) R a child by his Guardian | Third Respondent |
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JUDGE ROBERTS:
" . . . while she cannot accept any goodness or nurturing for herself, her son is potentially at risk of being deprived himself, given the concerns around their relationship."
Of the relationship between the parents she says:
"[Miss X's] only consistent relationship currently is with Mr Y her partner, with whom she shares a volatile, unpredictable relationship characterised by intermittent severe emotional abuse . . . while she remains so preoccupied with this relationship, she will struggle to 'hold Ryan in mind' and prioritise his needs above that of her relationship with Mr Y. Further, she does not appear to be concerned about the impact of exposure to the conflict on Ryan, nor his response to her emotional withdrawal from him when she is upset."
"Ryan is at risk of significant harm if he continues to live with his mother and she is unable to accept support and advice for her parenting of Ryan. The concerns around Miss X's inability to form a trusting relationship with those seeking to support her, along with concerns around her parenting of Ryan are now consistent. Further, Miss X appears to be becoming increasingly hostile to any support offered by her foster carers. Miss X and Mr Y's volatile relationship is at risk of distracting both his parents from the task of parenting him safely. While this continues to be the case, Ryan is potentially exposed to neglect and possibly emotional abuse by his mother and this has potential implications for his emotional and cognitive development."
"Ultimately Miss X and Mr Y appear to be making progress, but in many respects have not achieved the progress that would be expected."
"[The parents] continue to lack insight into the concerns of the professionals and tend to minimise issues that have remained static. Ryan's parent's unmet needs; dysfunctional life choices; and inability to provide consistent care and emotional responses within a stable environment are of significant risk to his physical and emotional wellbeing. They have continued to make poor choices and lacked a sense of urgency in tackling their problems and seeking or engaging with external agencies to assist them. They have not engaged with services appropriately, or proactively."
She finds that:
"[Ryan] is likely to be exposed to [emotional] harm in the care of his parents due to; their limited ability to meet Ryan's basic needs consistently; potential for poor parental mental health to recur; and his parent's poor capacity to understand their child's needs or to meet his basic care needs, as documented within these proceedings."
She sets out the likely impact on Ryan if he was returned to his parents:
"He will experience adults as unpredictable, frightening and unable to meet his needs reliably. This will influence his functioning, resulting in difficulties in maintaining trusting relationships; affecting his ability to learn and achieve; and impacting on his healthy brain development. Ryan is likely to experience his needs as secondary to his parents and he will experience his world as an alarming place. The impact on Ryan is that he will experience inconsistent parenting that is likely to amount to significant harm when his parent's needs are pressing and his needs are secondary to their own."