Sibling relationships
Cases about siblings staying together, being separated and maintaining relationships through care and adoption decisions.
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ADA (Children: Care and Placement Orders)
[2023] EWCA Civ 743
The assessment of a relative can determine whether a child grows up within their wider family or is placed for adoption. This case shows why disputed concerns need examination and why possible support, safeguards and the loss of sibling relationships belong in the comparison. It is important to report the mixed outcome accurately: the court required reconsideration for one child, while leaving the decisions for others in place. The later outcome for D has not been verified.
Re C (A Child)
[2014] EWCA Civ 70
The case shows how the quality and completeness of court records can affect a decision that changes a child’s family relationships for life. It also makes visible the difficulty of participating without representation when public bodies have lawyers. These defects mattered to the fairness of the process; the judgment does not establish that every unrepresented parent has a successful appeal or that a child must therefore return home.
Re K (Children: Placement Orders)
[2020] EWCA Civ 1503
The case distinguishes disapproval of parental behaviour from a reasoned explanation of why adoption is necessary for particular children. It recognises the importance of sibling relationships and cultural identity when evaluating the proposed alternative. For someone trying to understand their own adoption history, it identifies questions that a decision should have addressed rather than treating conflict with professionals as a complete explanation.
Re N (Refusal of Placement Order)
[2023] EWCA Civ 364
The case documents repeat adoption and harm within an adoptive home. It also recognises the importance of sibling relationships when deciding a child’s future. The mother’s history helps explain her position; it was not the legal basis on its own for refusing adoption.
Re R and C (Adoption or Fostering)
[2024] EWCA Civ 1302
Sibling relationships can be treated as part of a child's future, rather than merely a connection to a past left behind. The case supports asking what an adoption plan says about preserving those relationships in practice. But it was a decision authorising placement for adoption, not a finding that adoption always preserves family ties or is always preferable to fostering. Later guidance warns against copying its contact arrangements without an individual assessment.
Re S (Placement Order Contact)
[2025] EWCA Civ 823
For adoptees, the difference between a promise of contact and contact that actually continues can be substantial. This case helps frame questions about how sibling relationships were assessed and why a particular form of protection was chosen. Its guidance is useful even though the appeal failed. It does not establish an automatic entitlement to a contact order, a fixed number of visits, or unchanged arrangements after a final adoption order.