LJ (A child), Re

Kevin Farquharson for the Local Authority Carla Flexman for the First Respondent (mother) The Second Respondent (father) did not appear. Helen Battrick for the child and guardian ____________________

i) Chd1, who is aged 3, having been born on [a date in] 2010. Her father is JB (aged 20). Chd1 lives with her paternal grandmother and her partner under special guardianship orders [KK30]. JB has been involved with illegal drugs and drinks excessively;

ii) Chd2, who is aged 2. Her father is BW (aged 20). BW had an upbringing where he was exposed to neglect and parental drug taking [C30]. Chd2 lives with her paternal great grandparents. On 15 th January 2014 M pleaded guilty to assaulting BW on 31 st July 2013 and is now subject to a conditional discharge for 18 months (the magistrates found that she was not guilty of a linked charge of arson).

i) The Local Authority relied heavily on psychological evidence that had been obtained in January 2012 from a Dr Radford. Dr Radford has now retired. There was no update of psychological material. If I had to summarise in a sentence the views then expressed by Dr Radford it would be that she suggested that the mother did not then have sufficient maturity to care for her two older children in the light of her own damaging past.

ii) The lack of information about the Freedom Programme that the mother had said that she was attending. That Programme is intended to assist women to educate themselves in how to avoid domestically violent relationships. This was therefore important, given the mother's previous pattern of associating with violent men by whom she had children. As matters transpired it was very fortunate that further evidence was sought on this issue as it was revealed that the mother had given untruthful evidence about her attendance.