F (A Child: Placement Order: Proportionality)
[2018] EWCA Civ 2761 · Court of Appeal
What happened: A mother appealed against care and placement orders concerning her infant son. The case focused on whether the judge had adequately explained why the risks in family care justified adoption, including how serious and likely the feared harm was and how the available alternatives compared.
What the court decided: The appeal succeeded. The care and placement orders were set aside, a temporary care order was put in place and a fresh hearing was required. The original judgment had not adequately explained why adoption, with its lasting consequences, was a necessary and justified response. The appeal did not order an automatic return to the mother's care.
Why it matters to adoptees: General descriptions of a family as risky do not answer every question about whether adoption is necessary. This case offers a more specific way to examine the reasoning: what harm was feared, how likely was it, what would its consequences be, and could support reduce it? Those questions can help adoptees read the explanations in their own records. The subsequent decision about this child's future has not been verified.
Review limitations recorded
No exhaustive later treatment review; subsequent final welfare outcome not verified.
Limitations: Required reconsideration, not an automatic return to parental care. Subsequent welfare outcome not checked.
Case details and sources
Adoptee involvement: Family members brought the appeal(s) concerning children; not an adult adoptee application.
Remedy sought: Care and placement orders set aside; further welfare proceedings required.
Legal route: Appeal concerning care and placement orders
Judgments in this case
- [2018] EWCA Civ 2761 · Court of Appeal · 2018-12-11 · Judgment
Sources checked
- Judgment source (opens in a new tab)
Paragraphs 1–2 and concluding assessment · Judgment - Risk framework reproduced in ADA (2023) (opens in a new tab)
Paragraph 40 · Later judgment
Review scope: Indexed primary judgment passages checked for outcome and analytical failures; risk framework cross-checked against its reproduction in ADA [2023] EWCA Civ 743 paragraph 40. No exhaustive later treatment or subsequent outcome review.
Human verification pending. Entry: CASE-NEW-036.