Timms Care Conference 2023
On Friday 10th November 2023, we held our 10th annual Care Conference on the subject of Siblings in Care Proceedings.
Titled ‘Is Blood Thicker Than Water?’ we were delighted to welcome experts in their field; Daniel Monk, Professor of Law at Birkbeck, University of London, Dr Jacqueline Lynch, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Barrister David Payne from St.Ives Chambers, Birmingham and Hannah Barrs, Jacqueline Mallet and Moira Clarke from Derby City Council’s Adoption Permanence Team.
What Were The Conference Aims?
Our conference, the brainchild of Jo Taylor and Fiona Moffat, focused on the impact of family proceedings on brothers and sisters and how they are treated by the law. The aim of the conference was to provide a thought provoking insight into what is a sibling?; why the relationship between siblings matters; how the relationship is assessed; and how siblings are treated in care and adoption proceedings and beyond.
The sold out event attracted 100 delegates, a mixture of solicitors, guardians, barristers and those who work within the care system.
Our team found it very beneficial and had the following to say;
Fiona Moffat- Managing Partner
We posed the question at our Child care conference on Friday 10th November at Pride Park stadium to an audience of professionals working in the area of child care “Is blood thicker than water?”
We had a thought provoking day thinking about siblings and sibling relationships. We reflected on the current way in which the courts are treating sibling groups and shift in attitude towards supporting sibling relationships. Professor Daniel Monk was able to demonstrate that the court process is looking more favourably at keeping sibling groups together as a result of his research. Dr Lynch gave us colourful examples of how siblings interact and what is “normal” interaction and finally concluded that most definitely blood is thicker than water. Reactions from children engaging in contact with separately placed siblings such as bed wetting or a withdrawn demeanour or other similar responses may be normal responses and do not mean that contact should cease because of these responses. Honesty with children at their level of understanding about their life story is so important for development of identity.
All of these takeaways will help me to work with children as a child panel solicitor. We had a good day and enjoyed the sharing the experiences of others working in this field.
Dee Khunkhuna – Partner & Childcare Solicitor
My take from the conference.… When representing children give more detailed thought to seeking post placement orders for contact for siblings where the circumstances may require it and encourage guardians to feel empowered before the courts if they consider this to be in the best interests of the children.
Jo Taylor – Senior Associate & Childcare Solicitor
I was delighted to be involved in planning and presenting this year’s conference. I was slightly nervous as the chosen subject was originally my idea, and I recommended Daniel Monk as our keynote speaker. I didn’t need to worry as the bookings started to roll in, and then on Friday we had a brilliant day with great feedback. I found all of our speakers to be very interesting and particularly liked the way they fitted together and commented on each other’s presentations.
There was a lot to think about as we move back into practice. I think the 2 key things that will stay with me most are the statistics from Derby City Council regarding the scarcity of adopters for sibling groups, and that one (usually younger) child’s need for security does not in law necessarily trump the other (usually older) sibling’s need to maintain the sibling relationship.
Melissa Knight – Childcare Solicitor
The Care Conference this year was extremely valuable, and the talks around sibling separation and the dilemmas that the family courts find themselves faced with could not have come at a better time for me. I have a number of cases at the moment where the Local Authority are faced with challenges to their care planning as half-siblings who have the most profound bond and attachment could be separated due to a positive assessment of an absent birth father who has become involved since the proceedings were initiated. In one of the cases, this is even more stark as it could sever the sibling identity completely as the local authority’s plan for one of the children is adoption.
I was sat next to the Guardian who has instructed me on one of these cases and it opened up a thought provoking case discussion about the dilemmas the local authority, guardian and court will be faced with.
Jessica Barnett – Associate Family Law Solicitor
It was interesting to hear the way in which the sibling relationship is treated by the courts and in legislation. It was also helpful to consider the ways in which these relationships are dealt with in practice in public law proceedings when compared to private law matters as well as examining our general assumptions about the role and importance of our siblings.
Michaela Solomonides – Senior Paralegal
Headlines from me:-
• It is normal for children to be dysregulated following a contact with a parent/carer or sibling – it’s not a reason to stop contact.
• Sibling rivalry is normal and not a reason not to promote contact,
• Adoption needs to be more open to allow for sibling and/or parent contact and will be in years to come in light of social media and is the norm in Northern Ireland
• It does more harm than good not telling a child about birth sibling.
• The term “half sibling” should be in the past.
• More children should be aware they can make an application for contact
• Better legislation is needed
Hannah Wilkinson – Paralegal
I found the care conference very interesting and thought provoking. The guest speakers all brought something different to their presentations with looking at the topic from different angles, all of which are relevant to the types of cases that we deal with on a daily basis. I especially thought that the talk that was given by the adoption social workers was interesting as they spoke about how they can see changes coming for the future in how post adoption could look for both parents and siblings and I look forward to seeing the creative ways that local authorities plan for contact moving forwards in the cases that we work with.
Further Information
If you are a parent looking for advice on care proceedings, please contact our team on freephone 0800 011 6666 or email us at legal@timms-law.com.
If you would like information on our conferences and/or would like to join our mailing list, please contact Sharon Jeffery at marketing@timms-law.com.