April 3 was Preston’s official move day, although he had stayed at his new home before, the court hears. Ms Shepherdson says he woke and was with Sandra but he was ‘looking around for his daddies’ and was ‘happy and content with Jamie and John.’
On April 20, an Adoption Now report was written by the social worker. She says she had no concerns about his behaviour.
Mr Johnson asks if Ms Shepherdson is aware Jamie and John had raised some concerns with social worker Victoria Readett. The witness says she became aware and they arranged a joint visit.
She says: “It was a very intense period of time. We had brought together people who wouldnt necessarily come together. There had been issues that hadn’t been raised at the time, such as someone had come to live with Sandra who needed support that hadn’t been raised at the time. There was another time when a playdate had been arranged with another family and I think that had caught John and Jamie off guard. They just wanted to highlight these things.
“They still wanted to maintain contact recognising how important Sandra and Paul were but they just wanted to highlight things.”
Ms Shepherdson said she had not been made aware that those things were going to happen. But she says: “They continued to speak highly of her and recognise the role that she had done for Preston.”
Mr Johnson asks if their training as adoptive parents would encourage them to be transparent about their thoughts and feelings.
“Absolutely, yes”, the witness says. She says she then had a conversation with the foster carers’ own social worker, Nicole Blythe.
It was suggested that the next meeting was deferred, Preston wasn’t sleeping and they were exhausted. Ms Shepherdson says she agreed with the proposal although she can not remember who suggested it.