O v C [2025] EWFC 334

Case

An application by a mother to set aside what she submitted were findings made five years ago by a district judge dealing with Children Act proceedings concerning the party’s two children. At that point, the children were seven and 10 years old, respectively. They are now 12 and 15.

The findings that were sought to be set aside were those made by the district judge in reliance upon a report prepared by Ms G, who was appointed by the Court to carry out an assessment of the children. In her assessment, she stated that the children had suffered emotional and psychological harm as a result of the mother’s parenting and would continue to do so if they returned to her care without the mother receiving significant and specific therapy.

This assessment was accepted by the district judge, who expressed that he found as a fact that Ms G was correct.

In the body of her report, Ms G said there was extensive evidence that the children were being actively alienated from their father by the mother, and that in order to safeguard their welfare they should move to live with him with a package of therapeutic intervention. She recommended that the mother should engage in Schema therapy and that until she had engaged with it there should be no unsupervised contact. These recommendations were all accepted by the judge.

The children had been removed from their mother at an interim hearing in mid 2020, following Ms G stating she was concerned about the mother’s reaction to her recommendations. At the final hearing in September 2020 this position was confirmed. Since then, the mother has only had limited contact with the children.

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