Rebecca Davies summarises a judgment for Family Law Week about a children's guardian appeal against the decision to allow a 1-year-old child to remain in her mother's care and for placement orders relating to the child's 2 older brothers to be revoked.
Instead the guardian sought for the brothers' placement orders to remain, but for the girl to be removed and made subject to a care plan for adoption.
(The local authority sought to maintain the placement orders relating to the brothers and for the girl to stay at home with her mother under a supervision order).
The court upheld the trial judge's decision about the 1-year-old girl but restored the placement orders concerning the boys.
The judgment emphasises the need to consider the individual circumstances of the children and analyse the risk and situation ‘on the ground'.