ABSTRACT
Recent years have seen a renewed interest by social workers in direct work with children in care. This has been due to the move to permanency planning for children in care which requires social workers to intervene more actively, as well as the result of child abuse inquiries, court reports and the explosion in sexual abuse cases, all of which call for more attention to be paid to communication with children to find out their wishes and feelings and to consider their development. Self-advocacy of children in care as well as research studies pointing out failures in involving children in decision-making about their lives have emphasized this need. The Children Act 1989 requires that ‘When the court determines any question with respect to the upbringing and property of a child-the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration’ (section 1 (1)). Among the items the court should consider in deciding how to ensure this are the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child, as far as they can be determined without undue pressure on the child, and the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs.
