Girl writes open letter requesting 'nice foster family'

A 12-year-old girl who wrote an "open letter" saying she did not want to live at home has been placed with another family.

The youngster told social workers that she was asked to look after her younger sister and brother and felt "left out".

She said she loved her mother and stepfather "very much" and "really" hoped that they would not be upset.

But she said finding a "nice foster family" was "top of my list".

Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling by a family court judge who analysed issues at a private hearing in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Judge Martin Dancey said social workers had become involved after raising a number of concerns about the children's care.

"She wrote a letter," said Judge Dancey in his ruling.

"It is an open letter in the sense that (she) starts by saying that she wants everybody to know where she would like to be.

"She said she wanted her parents to know but she did not want to upset them."

The judge added: "One gets from that letter a strong sense of (her) responsibility within the home being more than she wished for, feeling isolated, seeing the need for real change."

He said the girl had written: "I don't want to live at home."

She had added: "I felt left out at times."

The youngster said she hoped that her mother and stepfather would not be upset and explained: "I still love Mum and Dad very much and don't want to hurt their feelings."

Judge Dancey said the girl's father had died when she was three.

He said her mother had a learning disability.

The judge said the youngster was now living with another couple under a "special guardianship order".

Judge Dancey said he also decided that the two younger children, both aged under five, should be placed for adoption because their needs were not being met.

He has not identified the family involved - or named the council with responsibility for the children's care.