Re H (Parents with Learning Difficulties: Risk of Harm)

LORD JUSTICE BAKER :

Introduction and background

This is an appeal against care and placement orders made in respect of a child, referred to in this judgment as “H”, who is now aged 22 months.

H’s parents both have cognitive difficulties. Her mother has a diagnosed learning disability. Her father has difficulties but does not meet the criteria for a learning disability.

H has three much older brothers, whom I shall call “D” (now aged 23), “E” (19), and “F” (16), and a sister, “G” (13). All four have cognitive impairments.

The local authority has been heavily involved with the family since 2011. D, then twelve years old, with the cognitive function of a child half his age, was alleged to have inappropriately touched a five-year-old girl. With the parents’ agreement, D moved into local authority care. Since that time, he has largely lived away from the family home and now lives in supported accommodation. All four children were made subject to child protection plans until 2013 when they were reclassified as children in need.

Over the next few years, there were a number of referrals to the local authority’s children services raising concerns about the children, in particular their relationship with associates of the family, allegations of aggressive and sexualised behaviour on the part of E and F, and violence allegedly shown by D towards E. In September 2018, E, F and G were again made subject to child protection plans on the basis of risk of sexual harm, and the parents signed a working agreement under which the children were not to have unsupervised contact with D, and G was not to be left alone with any of her brothers.

In February 2019, the local authority started care proceedings in respect of D, E and F. At that stage, E appeared to be beyond parental control and the local authority was worried that the children were still spending time with D and adults known to present risks to children. In a series of therapeutic sessions, G made allegations about E and F. She said that they were “mean”, that they hit, punched and kicked her, that they went into her bedroom when she did not want them to, that they showed her their genitals in the woods and that she felt unsafe when her parents were not at home. She indicated with visual aids that E and F had touched her genitals. On 28 March 2019, G was made subject of an interim care order and she was placed in foster care.

On 10 July 2019, E dragged his mother from the bath to the landing and sexually assa