In this blog for Stand Up For Siblings Sharon Laing from the Adoption and Fostering Service in East Ayrshire Council talks about the attention paid to sibling relationships within their service and provides some real examples of how this works in practice…

East Ayrshire takes sibling contact seriously. We understand that sibling relationships are some of the most enduring relationships we have and that it is important we preserve or rebuild sibling bonds for the children we care for. We always try to place brothers and sisters together where it is in the children’s best interest but where this is not possible “family time” should be a priority.

Right from the first steps in becoming a Foster Carer, before prospective are even assessed, when undertaking Preparation to Foster groups, we emphasise the importance of the sibling bond and that part of the Foster Carer’s role will be to support  contact. This is built upon throughout the assessment process, ensuring that all East Ayrshire Foster carers understand and accept they will have a significant role to play in ensuring the children they care for can spend valuable time with their brothers and sisters.

It is our expectation of our carers that if contact is not part of an assessment and it is safe to do so, they will take the lead in organising and facilitating sibling contact. The aim is to try to normalise family time as much as possible. Our carers have truly embraced this approach and we have some lovely stories we can share:

Family Fleming siblings:

The three children had lived with the same foster family for some time but the difficult decision was taken that due to the high level of care needs the children have, one of the children would move to another foster family. While there had been a high degree of conflict between the children, it was evident they had had a very strong sibling bond and it was imperative to ensure these were repaired after the separation. The Foster carers understood that family time within the carer’s homes would be too emotionally intense and they needed to inject fun back into the children’s relationships. This included planned activities and days out together, this is currently fortnightly. The carers hope to be able to have each other’s children over for tea and sleep-overs in the near future and be able to be more spontaneous.

Family Grey siblings:

The two foster families who care for two siblings who are separated have a very simple but effective arrangement. One child goes every Friday to their sibling foster family for tea. If one carer is taking a child swimming or to the park for example, they will pick up the phone and ask the other carer and invite the other child along too.

It is not just our foster carers but our residential children’s carers who ensure that brothers and sisters who do not live together have quality family time.

Family Morrison siblings:

The four children in this family had lived together before being accommodated on an emergency basis. This meant that they were all placed separately at this time, two with foster families and two in residential care.  All four sets of carers worked well together to ensure the children spent as much time together as possible. Sometimes this involved organising a special trip out for the day but also includes more day to day opportunities, for example, the siblings came to watch their brother play in a football match and then they all came back to the children’s house for tea.

Ensuring children have quality time with their brothers and sisters is not without its challenges for carers. There can be sometimes an age gap between siblings or a larger sibling groups from teenagers to toddlers and the carers have to be creative in planning activities to try to meet all their interests.

Communication between carers is vital to ensure they have the same expectations of the children and agreed boundaries to help family time run smoothly but also to ensure all siblings see they are cared for the same way

Carers also need to be emotionally prepared to answer sensitive questions from the children  they don’t care for and to be prepared to comfort children who may find family time brings to the fore the sadness they feel at not staying  with their brother or sister all the time

Family time is also an opportunity to rebuild ruptured sibling bonds and create positive sibling relationships. The three children from family Fleming are unable to live together because of the high degree of aggression they showed to each other. Being together triggered old behaviour patterns where they had been encourage to physically fight each other by adults who were caring for them. Over time the three carers have worked together, taking small steps to bring the children together within a nurturing but consistent environment. They are increasing the time they can be together and the children look forward to seeing each other and talk of each other with love.

As a Fostering and Adoption Service, we recognise that we have a part to play in supporting our carers in providing quality family time.  We do this through providing training on sibling contact but more importantly, ensuring that carers have regular supervision where they can have an opportunity to reflect and share their feelings about the challenges that supporting sibling contact can bring but also to have it acknowledged that their work in supporting our children in this way is invaluable now but also for the children’s future.

* All families names have been changed to protect confidentiality

The Inner House today decided that the current way that the Children’s Hearings System considers brothers and sisters is compatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. You can view the judgment here.

For responses to the judgment, you can view a press release by Clan Childlaw. You can also view a statement by SCRA. Both organisations remain committed to Stand Up For Siblings and promoting sibling relationships.

In the UK, and in other countries, child protection policies have moved towards earlier intervention in the lives of vulnerable children and achieving permanence more quickly for looked after children. This comes from evidence that stability of placement and early permanence result in better outcomes for children who cannot be returned to their parents’ care. In this blog two of Stand Up For Siblings members, Ruth Woods and Gillian Henderson, ask if early removal of children into permanent out of home care may be having unintended consequences for their relationships with siblings.

This question arose from our research on changes in complexity in child protection in Scotland[1]. We compared 110 children born in 2003 with 117 born in 2014, all of whom were placed on Compulsory Supervision Orders before they were 3 years old. We found that children born in 2013 were significantly more likely to be removed from their parents’ care at birth, to reside away from their parents throughout the first 3 years of their lives, and to have permanence plans in place by 3 years old.

We went onto see if this trend towards early removal of children into care had other consequences for children and their families[2]. We found there was a greater use of foster care for the children born in 2013. This indicates an increase in family fragmentation and not only separation from parents but also other relatives including siblings.

In our study, 55% of the children born in 2003 and 69% of those born in 2013 were separated from at least one of their siblings (although not all these separations were as a result of child protection measures). Across both groups, 95% of the children who were removed from their parents at birth were separated from their siblings. These new born children are unlikely to be returned to their parents’ care and may also never have the opportunity to develop relationships with their siblings.

So while early intervention and permanence provide vulnerable children with the stability and safety they would not have otherwise, it also means family fragmentation and separation of siblings[2]. Separation from siblings deprives a child of these important relationships and may impact on their sense of identity.

To answer our original question – yes there are unintended consequences of the move to earlier intervention and permanence, and these are greater disruption of sibling relationships for children in care. This makes what Stand Up For Siblings aims to achieve even more important – that sibling relationships of looked after children must be given much greater prominence in policy, law and practice.

Dr Gillian Henderson
Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration
Gillian.henderson@scra.gsi.gov.uk

Dr Ruth Woods
Robert Gordon University
r.woods3@rgu.ac.uk

[1] Woods, R., Henderson, G., Kurlus, I., Proudfoot, P., Hobbs, N. & Lamb, D. (2018). Complexity in the lives of looked after children and their families in Scotland: 2003 to 2016. Available at:   https://www.scra.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Complexity-in-the-lives-of-looked-after-children-and-their-families.pdf

[2] Woods, R. & Henderson, G. (2018). Changes in out of home care and permanence planning among young children in Scotland, 2003 to 2013. Adoption & Fostering 42(3), 282-294.

CELCIS has been focussing on evidence into practice with its digital publication, REACH. Each day new articles, blog posts, podcasts and film interviews have been telling the stories of projects that are happening right now across Scotland to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.

In this audio clip Shannon from Kilmarnock talks about her experience of being brought up in care. She shares her views on sibling contact and how important it is for brothers and sisters not to lose touch with each other when taken into care.

Shannon is part of Connecting Voices, a participation group of care experienced young people, run with the support of East Ayrshire Council.

No matter each organisation’s role and function, Scotland’s corporate parents share the same goals – to uphold the rights and safeguard the wellbeing of care experienced children and young people. Achieving these goals requires a whole range of activities, and with competing priorities, it is not always easy to know where to begin.

In this blog Lizzie Morton of CELCIS and David Faith, formerly of Who Cares? Scotland explore what corporate parents can do to improve siblings’ experiences of care as part of their statutory duties.

Are we treating sibling relationships as a priority?

• When children and young people become looked after away from their birth parents, evidence tells us the majority experience separation from some or all of their siblings.[1] This can be for a range of reasons, including concerns around safety, and sometimes because children themselves may prefer not to see their sibling at certain points in their childhood. But often, estrangement is due to a lack of resources and the limited availability of carers who can accommodate sibling groups.

• Concerningly, children’s views in relation to contact with their siblings is poorly documented in case files, and evidence shows that (where recorded) sibling contact appears to diminish over time.[2]

• In many cases, limited practical steps are taken to maintain, support and develop the relationships between siblings who live apart. This can be for a range of reasons, including resource constraints.

• Where arrangements are in place for brothers and sisters to spend time together, often these are not conducive to having quality time together, or nurturing siblings’ relationships in their own right.

Much can be done to improve the current situation. Together, we can support brothers and sisters to spend quality time together, both face to face, and in other ways by maximising safe opportunities provided by technology and social media.

What can I do as a corporate parent?

As corporate parents, there is a duty under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 to be alert to matters which adversely affect the wellbeing of care experienced children and young people, so an awareness of the issues of sibling separation is necessary. But awareness alone is not enough; corporate parents also have statutory duties to promote the interests of care experienced children and young people, and to provide accessible opportunities to participate in activities designed to promote wellbeing. Corporate parents must take meaningful actions to meet these duties, and supporting sibling relationships for children and young people with care experience is a key step in doing so.

In spite of their varied, differing roles, all corporate parents have an important part to play. Corporate parents will wish to consider:

• Including actions to support sibling relationships in your corporate parenting plan.
• Staying informed about the issues of sibling separation, and keeping up to date with the latest news on the Stand up For Siblings website.
• Making a pledge to show your support for Stand Up For Siblings.
• Using your voice and position to highlight the issue of sibling separation and contact whenever the opportunity arises.
• Making commitments and taking actions to ensure brothers and sisters stay together (if this is within your remit as a corporate parent).
• Considering how you can provide opportunities for brothers and sisters to spend quality time together (or how you can collaborate with other corporate parents to do this).
• Ensuring children’s views about their sibling relationships and contact are listened to, and that they form part of the Child’s Plan.

However you decide to meet your duties and responsibilities as a corporate parent in relation to supporting siblings, please let us know what you’re doing so we can share good practice, and please get in touch for advice and support!

[1] Jones, C. & Henderson, G. (2017) Supporting Sibling Relationships of Children in Permanent Fostering and Adoptive Families, Glasgow: University of Strathclyde

[2] ibid

Stand Up For Siblings has responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and creation of a Family Justice Modernisation Strategy. You can review the response here. If you have any questions about the response, please contact Dr Christine Jones, at the University of Strathclyde.