E (A Child) (Disclosure to Regulator & Naming of a Witness in a Judgment), Re

E (A Child) (Disclosure to Regulator & Naming of a Witness in a Judgment), Re

The judgment should be published in anonymised form with Ms Dover named, as the balance of public interest, safeguarding, and open justice outweighs the speculative and unsubstantiated risks to her privacy or professional standing. Disclosure of the judgment to Ms Dover’s regulator, LADO, and employers is necessary and proportionate for safeguarding purposes. The application to name the parents in any published judgment is adjourned to the conclusion of the proceedings to protect the child’s welfare.

Parties
Applicant: Father; First Respondent: Mother; Second Respondent: Child (E) (via Guardian); Interested Party: Aimee Dover
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
12 May 2025
Procedural Posture
Private Law Children Act 1989 Proceedings / Post Fact Finding Hearing; Applications Regarding Publication, Disclosure, and Anonymisation
Outcome
Applications granted in part; judgment to be published with Ms Dover named; disclosure to regulator, LADO, and employers permitted; application to name parents adjourned.
Legal Topics
Disclosure to Regulator, Anonymisation of Professionals, Publication of Judgments, Open Justice, Article 8 ECHR, Article 10 ECHR, Safeguarding, Professional Regulation
Family Law Children Law Privacy Law Human Rights Disclosure to Regulator Anonymisation of Professionals Publication of Judgments Open Justice +4 more

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Parties

Father

Applicant

Mother

First Respondent

Child (E) (via Guardian)

Second Respondent

Aimee Dover

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Private Law Children Act 1989 Proceedings / Post Fact Finding Hearing; Applications Regarding Publication, Disclosure, and Anonymisation

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Should the fact-finding judgment be published and, if so, should the psychotherapist (Ms Dover) be named?
  2. 2 Should the judgment be disclosed to Ms Dover’s regulator, LADO, and current employers?
  3. 3 Should the parents be named in any published judgment?

Ratio Decidendi

The judgment should be published in anonymised form with Ms Dover named, as the balance of public interest, safeguarding, and open justice outweighs the speculative and unsubstantiated risks to her privacy or professional standing. Disclosure of the judgment to Ms Dover’s regulator, LADO, and employers is necessary and proportionate for safeguarding purposes. The application to name the parents in any published judgment is adjourned to the conclusion of the proceedings to protect the child’s welfare.

Court Disposition

Applications granted in part; judgment to be published with Ms Dover named; disclosure to regulator, LADO, and employers permitted; application to name parents adjourned.

Orders

  • Fact-finding judgment to be published in anonymised form with Ms Dover named.
  • Redacted judgment to be disclosed to BACP, relevant LADO, and headteacher/safeguarding lead of schools where Ms Dover works, with restrictions on onward disclosure.