OCC v L

THE FAMILY COURT SITTING AT OXFORD BEFORE HER HONOUR JUDGE OWENS 23rd February 2018 B e f o r e :

Mr Sampson, Counsel, for OCC Ms Pepper, Counsel, for the First Respondent Mother, M Ms Kotilaine, Counsel, for the Second Respondent Father, F Ms Gray, Counsel, for the Third and Fourth Respondents, acting through their Children's Guardian 19TH FEBRUARY 2018 TO 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 ____________________

This hearing has been effective as the final hearing and I have read the Bundle and heard from the allocated social worker, Dr Bailham and the Guardian. The parents, having had proper legal advice and several opportunities to consider the implications of not giving evidence through the course of this hearing, chose not to give any evidence and no party wished to seek to have them compelled to give evidence in light of the fact that this would be unlikely to achieve much by way of good quality evidence for the Court.

There is a considerable history of LA involvement with this family, stretching back to 2010. There have been numerous referrals from different services raising concerns about almost all aspects of the care given to the children. It is the Local Authority case that, despite a very high level of support given to the parents over the years, the concerns have not reduced and in fact the Local Authority have accepted that they should have brought proceedings far earlier in relation to W and J who now present as deeply damaged and with significant additional needs.

The parents have been subject to a PAMS model parenting assessment (C78-99). That assessment was by Jill Edge and she identified seven areas of work that the parents would have to undertake to enable them to parent to a good enough standard.