By Tony O’Reilly-
Government Amendment to Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Ends Long-Standing Struggles for Sibling Contact, Hailed as Victory After Over 13 Years of Campaigning
In a landmark shift for child welfare law, the UK government has introduced a groundbreaking amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that guarantees children in care the legal right to maintain contact with their siblings. This change, which has been heralded as a victory for child advocacy organizations and a long-overdue recognition of the importance of sibling relationships, follows over 13 years of tireless campaigning and advocacy by charities that have worked relentlessly to challenge the systemic separation of siblings placed in care.
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The new legislation marks a pivotal moment in the battle to rectify what many have described as a “historic wrong.” For decades, children in care who were separated from their families often faced the additional trauma of being removed from their siblings, a group many children view as their closest source of emotional support. The 13-year-long campaign, led by advocacy groups, was sparked by a growing body of evidence showing the devastating impact of sibling separation on children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Now, with the new legal amendment, local authorities will be legally bound to ensure that children in care are able to maintain regular contact with their siblings unless there are clear, compelling reasons to restrict that contact. The move has been hailed as a critical reform that prioritizes children’s rights and addresses the harm caused by years of policy neglect.
The catalyst for the change was the growing realization that the existing system of care—while focused on protecting children from harm—was also causing significant emotional and psychological damage to children who were separated from their siblings. Historically, the UK child welfare system often placed children in care based on individual needs, but siblings were frequently placed in different homes without sufficient efforts to maintain their bonds. This separation, experts argued, led to feelings of isolation and confusion, leaving children with fewer emotional supports to help them cope with the trauma of being removed from their families.
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This problem was not new. In fact, sibling separation within the care system had been a well-documented issue for years. But it was not until the mid-2000s that a concerted effort to address it gained traction. The tipping point came when a number of high-profile cases highlighted the stark consequences of sibling separation. One such case involved a young girl named Emily, who was placed into care at the age of eight. Emily had two brothers, but after entering the foster system, she was separated from them, placed in a different foster home, and had little to no contact with her siblings. The emotional distress caused by this separation was profound, and it was clear that the system had failed to protect the most basic need for sibling connection. Emily’s case was featured in national media, and it brought the issue to public attention in a way it had never been before.
This, combined with a growing body of research showing the long-term negative effects of sibling separation, sparked the beginning of a campaign that would last more than a decade. Advocacy organizations like the Sibling Campaign, led by Lucy Verity, and the Children’s Rights Alliance, began to push harder for reform. They argued that the importance of sibling bonds in a child’s emotional and psychological development had been overlooked for far too long. With each passing year, their calls grew louder.
Thirteen Years Campaigning In Battle for Rights
The campaign for sibling contact rights in the UK child welfare system began in earnest in the mid-2000s, when a group of child advocacy organizations came together to address what they saw as a fundamental flaw in the system. The Sibling Campaign, a coalition of charities focused on protecting the rights of children in care, led the charge, gathering evidence from social workers, child psychologists, and, crucially, the voices of children themselves.
“For years, children in care were made to feel as though their sibling relationships were expendable,” said Lucy Verity, Director of the Sibling Campaign. “We knew that these children were suffering because they were being separated from the people who mattered most to them. We made it our mission to ensure that sibling bonds were no longer treated as secondary or optional, but as an essential part of a child’s care and wellbeing.”
Over the years, the Sibling Campaign faced numerous obstacles. Despite mounting evidence of the harm caused by sibling separation, efforts to change the law were repeatedly stalled. Political resistance, budgetary constraints, and the complexity of child welfare policy all contributed to the delays. Yet, the campaigners were undeterred. They gathered petitions, held public demonstrations, and lobbied lawmakers for action. They also worked closely with children in care to give them a platform to share their experiences and voice their desire to stay connected with their siblings.
One of the key turning points in the campaign came in 2013, when the Children’s Rights Alliance released a comprehensive report that revealed the extent of sibling separation in the care system. The report, titled Forgotten Bonds, found that nearly one in four children in care were separated from at least one sibling, with many placed in different foster homes or residential care facilities without sufficient efforts to maintain contact. The report also documented the negative emotional impact of sibling separation, with children reporting feelings of loneliness, confusion, and anxiety as a result.
This report generated widespread media attention and put pressure on the government to take action. However, despite the mounting evidence, it was not until 2019 that significant strides were made in the campaign for sibling contact rights. That year, the UK government announced a review of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, a major piece of legislation aimed at reforming the child welfare system. Advocacy groups saw this as an opportunity to finally push for a legal change that would guarantee sibling contact rights.
After years of lobbying, negotiations, and consultations with key stakeholders, the government finally introduced the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in early 2023. The amendment, which has now passed the legislative process, stipulates that local authorities must prioritize sibling contact for children in care, ensuring that they maintain regular communication and visits unless there are clear, legitimate reasons to prevent this. This means that social workers and foster carers will now be legally required to facilitate and encourage sibling contact, recognizing its importance to the child’s overall wellbeing.
The new law is a direct response to the concerns raised by advocacy groups, child welfare experts, and children themselves over the years. By giving children the legal right to remain in touch with their siblings, the government has acknowledged the central role that family connections play in a child’s recovery from trauma and their overall development.
The amendment has been widely celebrated as a historic victory for children in care. “This is a massive step forward for children’s rights,” said Emma Lewis, Policy Advisor at the Children’s Rights Alliance. “For too long, sibling relationships have been treated as an afterthought in the care system. This new law recognizes that these relationships are just as important as other aspects of a child’s welfare and protection.”
For the Sibling Campaign, this amendment represents the culmination of more than 13 years of tireless advocacy and campaigning. “It’s been a long road, but today is a testament to the power of collective action,” said Verity. “We have finally achieved what we set out to do: ensuring that every child in care has the right to grow up with their siblings, or at least maintain meaningful contact with them.”
While the passing of the amendment represents a significant win for child welfare advocates, experts are quick to note that the real challenge will lie in ensuring the new law is properly implemented. Critics of the previous system point out that, even with the legal right to sibling contact, many children in care continue to face systemic barriers that prevent them from maintaining these crucial relationships.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” said Dr. Sarah Jennings, a child welfare expert. “The law is only part of the solution. It will require extensive training for social workers and foster carers, clear guidance on how to implement sibling contact, and adequate resources to support these efforts. Local authorities will need to demonstrate a commitment to upholding the spirit of the law, not just its letter.”
The government has promised to monitor the effectiveness of the new legislation over the next two years, with a review planned to assess whether the law has led to tangible improvements for children in care.
In the meantime, the Sibling Campaign and other advocacy groups continue to work with local authorities, child welfare professionals, and policymakers to ensure that the voices of children in care remain at the forefront of the conversation.
“We’ve achieved something incredible, but the fight isn’t over,” said Verity. “We will continue to push for more reforms and ensure that children’s rights are always protected.”
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