Squaring the Adoption Triangle: reconciling the competing needs of sibling children

Dowding, Sally

Abstract

Siblings are important – so far, so obvious – and yet the sibling relationship does not feature in the commonly-described ‘Adoption Triangle’1 of birth parent, child and prospective adopters.

Social workers construct care plans, making recommendations to the court as to the appropriate arrangements for each child with whom the court is concerned, but responsibility rests upon the judge to sanction or prohibit the severance of a sibling relationship. In so doing, the judge must afford paramount consideration to the welfare of the child who is the subject of the application – even though the decision may have significant implications for the welfare of the siblings left behind.

This thesis explores, primarily through the prism of judicial decisionmaking, the extent to which the significance of the sibling relationship is recognised and respected within the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales; the extent to which the legal framework facilitates or impedes that recognition and respect, and the scope afforded by the law for judges to reconcile the competing needs of sibling children.

In order to provide context, the thesis contains a literature review and consideration of the theory of judicial decision-making; the application of that theory in practice is explored by direct survey of family judges and analysis of reported cases, concluding not only with findings based upon the research undertaken, but also with recommendations generated by those findings for further research, as well as areas in which the relevant law may benefit from further clarification or amendment.

My thesis has been inspired by the recognition that, currently, the child protection system is at risk of failing to promote and preserve essential sibling bonds. Whilst there may be limited circumstances in which the separation of siblings provides the least detrimental care option, children deserve to be confident that all appropriate attempts will be made, by social workers and judges alike, to preserve and promote positive sibling relationships. This research is designed to consider to what extent the law, and its judicial application, honours and facilitates that aspiration.

1. A term coined, inter alia, in ‘The Adoption Triangle’ (Floud, 1982 p.50).

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 27, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 6, 2024
• Additional Information: Embargo on access until 1 March 2024 - The thesis is due for publication, or the author is actively seeking to publish this material.
• Award Date: 2023-07