Foster parenting

A couple have been rejected from being foster parents because they admitted they sometimes smack their own child - we'd like to hear your views

David and Heather Bowen from Somerset have lodged an appeal saying their beliefs on smacking are in accordance with their beliefs and British law.

Their local council was so desperate for foster parents it said even single mothers and criminals would be considered. So when chartered surveyor David Bowen and his wife Heather applied, they were somewhat surprised to be rejected.

Married for 11 years, the professional couple were even more startled to learn the reason – they had admitted they sometimes resorted to smacking their own child. Their nine-year-old daughter Emma, they said, was occasionally chastised physically as a last resort, in accordance with their beliefs and within British law.

But Somerset County Council which says on its website that foster parents can be homosexual, disabled, on benefits, have a criminal record, be of any age, religion and gender, and be married or single – ruled the Bowens were unsuitable.

Mr Bowen, 41, is a school governor while his 47-year-old wife is a special needs adviser who has just been offered a job as a primary school teaching assistant. They live in a four-bedroom semi-detached house in Taunton, Somerset, and attend church every Sunday.

Three years ago their second child, Jonathan, died shortly after birth with a rare skeletal condition. The couple failed to conceive again and decided to apply to foster.

Fostering process

Their application initially proceeded well and they said they were approved by the social worker and her line manager. It was only when their case went to the fostering panel last December that the council decided it had a problem with the use of physical chastisement.

Mr Bowen said: "It seems we have been excluded on the basis that we physically chastise our birth child, in accordance with our beliefs and UK law. To put this in perspective, our birth daughter is chastised physically only as a last resort among a whole range of other forms of behaviour management strategies which include rewards and sanctions. "

The Bowens say they agreed from the outset that, although they might smack their own child, they would not physically chastise any foster child placed in their care. But on March 6 the panel met again and ruled the Bowens could not be foster carers. Mrs Bowen said: "We are grateful that we have a beautiful daughter and our faith gives us much strength. But we feel a tremendous sense of loss that we are not allowed to complete our family and provide a loving to home to a child in need."

The Bowens have lodged an appeal and are consulting lawyers about a possible judicial review. Mr Bowen said: "If councils are permitted to reject parents for fostering or adoption on the basis that they physically chastise birth children, then thousands of damaged children will be denied access to perfectly good homes and parents. "Surely this is not putting children first."

Somerset County Council statement

Linda Barnett, Head of Children's Services at Somerset County Council said: "In assessing parents' suitability for fostering we take into account a range of factors which we gather from extensive assessment and discussion with the potential carers. In common with most other Local Authorities, Somerset has a Foster Carer's Agreement which describes our belief about parenting.

Where carers have a very strong personal belief that differs from the Foster Carer Agreement, it is potentially unfair to expect them to operate to a set of guidelines which conflicts with this. This brings into sharp focus the issue of whether they will be able to work alongside the local authority in caring for other people's children.

Currently Mr & Mrs Bowen have lodged an appeal and we are in discussion with them about the hearing of that appeal and therefore cannot comment further at this point."

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