A Council v Mother & Ors

Facts

C, a girl aged approximately 18 months, was the subject of care proceedings brought by a local authority in the Family Court at Chester. In a fact-finding judgment delivered on 29 January 2026 ([2026] EWFC 33 (B)), Her Honour Judge Hesford found that C had sustained extensive, life-changing injuries at the hands of her father in a violent assault: bruising, multiple bilateral rib and clavicle fractures, damage to her frenulum and, most significantly, brain and spinal cord injuries including haemorrhages, which will leave her significantly disabled. No findings were made against the mother. Following a positive addendum parenting assessment, C was transitioned back to her mother's care, a staged return completed by early June 2026, and she settled and thrived. The local authority's plan for C to live with her mother under a Child Arrangements Order supported by a Supervision Order was agreed by the mother and the Guardian, and by the father in a skeleton argument filed the day before the hearing. Four matters remained in dispute: the duration of the Supervision Order, contact, the mother's application to terminate the father's parental responsibility under s.4(2A) Children Act 1989, her application to change C's surname, and an order under s.91(14) Children Act 1989. The father sought direct supervised contact, retention of parental responsibility, and opposed the change of name.