Archbishop Jonathan Blake

The Most Reverend Jonathan Blake, Presiding Archbishop of the Open Episcopal Church B.A. (Hons), Dip. Pastoral Studies. Mobile: 07767 687711 www.bishopjonathanblake.com archbishopjonathanblake@gmail.com www.openepiscopalchurch.org The Church is a member of The International Council of Community churches and the World Council of Churches. Married and a proud Dad.

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Location: London, Kent, United Kingdom

Gassed Tehran, seized Kabul, helped Mother Teresa, funded TB hospital, priest 1981, went Auschwitz, wrote on Parliament, convicted, began 1st inter-faith NHS chapel, 12 yrs Anglican cleric/vicar - left, baptised 1000's in homes/Mt Snowdon/at circus, wedding underwater, wrote ‘For God’s Sake Don’t Go To Church’, nailed 95 Theses 2 Canterbury cathedral, arrested, co-founded the Society for Independent Ministry, consecrated a bishop, co-founded the Open Episcopal Church, did 1st gay wedding on morning TV, sued Associated Newspapers, co-consecrated 1st women bishops 4 England,Wales,Scotland, accommodated the homeless, posted Mass/took it 2 sex workers, elected Archbishop, arrested 4 climbing with sons,founded ‘When No One’s Watching',made ICV, did Jade Goody's wedding,invited 2 Downing St, wrote 'That Old Devil Called God Again', conviction 4 campaigning against child abuse quashed on appeal, convicted 4 successful blogging 2 stop paedophile. His Christmas Lights raising £79,000 4 Water in 4 Gambian villages. Published "The Tales of Henry the Lovable Hedgehog", the SAFE New Testament + Psalms + radical Book of Common Prayer, ordained priests for UK,US,Thailand,Spain,Ireland

Thursday, June 26, 2014

THE NUN'S MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS

The milk of human kindness - Roman Catholic style - Let's berate and judge teenage mothers, kidnap their children, starve them to death, cut up their bodies for medical research and bung them in an unmarked unconsecrated mass grave.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4130584.ece

THE GREAT AND THE GOOD ARE CONNING US AGAIN ABOUT SAVILE

 Is this going to be one of the greatest institutional con tricks?
 It seems that the dead Savile is becoming the great sewer outflow of institutional failures. The 'great and the good' are still in charge, lording/lauding it over us and reporting that that other members of the 'great and the good' as well as a considerable number of those they employed, all of whom we paid with our taxes, and trusted with our lives, some of whom became rich through us and received honours and walked in the corridors of advantage, allowed us and our children to be sexually abused while alive and dead. 
However no one, it seems, is facing arrest and no convictions are being brought. Those who colluded with him, conspired with him and perpetrated the abuse have disappeared into history. Those who witnessed his abuse, to whom he boasted about his abuse, who laughed in the faces of those who spoke about having been abused and who had evidence about the abuse, but chose to protect their jobs rather then the vulnerable appear to want to bury their evil in Savile's grave. Many are still alive. They must face justice.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

WICKED WONGA

 The spokespeople for WONGA sound so respectable when interviewed and they always have fine words and clear answers. Their adverts appear in homes across the land and our children sublimally associate them with puppets, play and positive impressions. The truth is their set up stinks. They are crooks and thieves. They pillage the poor and screw the oppressed into further dereliction. They are a disgrace and it is heinous that they are allowed to continue to wreak their misery among vulnerable families.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article4129709.ece

Monday, June 23, 2014

THE ABUSE OF TWO CHILDREN

It seems that Ben and Lochlan, the two vulnerable McDougall children have now been snatched by social workers and police and placed into care.

Apparently that they have been subject to strip searches.

Reportedly they were asleep when the police, by dead of night, burst into the sanctity of their home and wrecked their childhood idyll.

This abusive treatment of children by the statutory services must be exposed.

Complain to FIFE Social Services, to John Hemming M.P. and Thomas Docherty M.P.




JUDGE NICHOLAS CHRICHTON AND THE CHILD SNATCHERS

Judge Nicholas Chrichton spoke with chilling masculine sterility this morning on Radio 4 when he said that he often removed child after child from a mother. He said that he knew of one case where 15 children had been removed from one woman.

A series of men spoke patronisingly about the flaws of these mothers and families, about the middle class 'therapeutic' resources with which they tried to remedy their problems and the tests the mothers were set to see if they had risen to 'acceptable standards' to care for their own children.

I was appalled.

92,000 children are in care in the U.K.

Last year 16,000 children were taken from their mothers.

They did not mention that after the state's abysmal standards of care the taken children often end up in prison, disturbed and destroyed, facing a lifetime of misery.

It is time to stop the secrecy of the family courts, expose the actions of the child snatchers, protect mothers and families from the state's intrusion and the cultural tyranny of the middle class.

TOO SELFISH TO DIE

One step too far in our self obsession?

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/americas/article4126838.ece

CHRISTIAN SUICIDE SCHOOLS

 Children as young as 5 are hearing about fathers killing their sons in the name of religion in schools all over the U.K. It's called the Christian faith. However, for 'Christians' the fact that their Father God sends his son on a suicide mission which results in him and countless others meeting their deaths or that the same Father God ordered Abraham to plunge a knife into his son as a gift to God raise not an eyebrow.......It's time we saw the back of all religion.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/iraq/article4127015.ece

Friday, June 20, 2014

A LITTLE BOY AND GIRL UNDER THREAT FROM FIFE SOCIAL SERVICES

MESSAGE FROM A DISTRESSED GRANDFATHER...... There are two new twists added by Fife Council.  They've now scheduled a hearing of the children's panel for early July but they've instigated 2 hearings prior to that.  The first hearing is to decide if the children should be required to appear as they feel they may be distressed by (the distressed Dad's)  potential behaviour.  They have also instigated some type of hearing for the Mum under mental health regulations to ensure she's not at some kind of risk from her hsuband.  Their activities in persecuting my family have reached new depths.  Is there nobody who can stop them in their relentless & inhuman pursuit of my son whose only crime is to love his family & oppose what these people are doing to him?

M.P's have been contacted.

Please complain to Fife Social Services about their treatment of Mark and Kerry McDougall and their children.

https://www.fifedirect.org.uk/doitonline/index.cfm?fuseaction=form.GetDetails&Start=1&ModNo=1&sxl=1&forid=311A561C-E7FE-C7EA-0E665AF2591E6BF3&anon=1&signup=0&pageid=0&subjectid=0

Please write and email to 

thomas.docherty.mp@parliament.uk

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

RESIST THE EVIL OF FIFE SOCIAL SERVICES

Beware Social Services:

In secrecy, hidden from the public eye, they raid family homes and terrorise their children.

'Too dumb to get married mum fears her kids will be taken away from her'

'Mum who fled Scotland after social workers deemed her not smart enough to raise a child returns but faces losing her two little boys'


Fife Social services are terrorising the family again, threatening to take two beautiful children away from the sanctity, safety and happiness of their home and parents and deliver them to the raw instability of local authority care, that so often traumatises the children and heads them into the justice system.

The parents can do nothing, as the media can't report their situation, due to the restrictive laws that purport to protect children but actually expose them to the abuse of the local authority. In Scotland three 'respectable' members of the public sit as Gods and pronounce on the future of a child's life. Perhaps you have been a victim of the so called 'respectables' - the middle class do gooders who sit in their positions of financial and cultural advantage to tear homes apart and betray the innocence of children's childhoods.

Enough is enough.

Protect Mark and Kerry's family and their two beautiful children Ben and Loughlin from the invasive, destructive and abusive power of the state.

In Ben's words, the four year old - "We have to get a new house, but not in Inverkeithing.  You won't get arrested by the police and the social worker won't be able to find us.  Coz we'll be far away.  We'll be in Arbroath and they don't know where Arbroath is, even the police."


DUPING THE PUBLIC WITH KATE'S PRETTY PICS

 Yes let's distract the gullible public from the utter disaster of our recent foreign policy with pretty pictures of Kate.....

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/royalfamily/article4122980.ece

A SMIDGEON OF PAPER AND THE RICH DANCERS

A smidgeon of paper leads the rich on a merry dance.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/americas/article4122725.ece

EMPEROR AKIHITO MAY BE WATCHING CHILD PORN?

 Japan votes to protect child porn, images of child abuse and films of the sexual exploitation of children - as long as they are drawn, cartoons or computer generated. This makes way for a full length feature presentation of children being sexually abused. Perhaps the Queen ought to consider what Emperor Akihito might have been watching the night before they next dine together.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article4122729.ece

DRINK THE WORLD CUP OF DELUSION

While we kick a football about, the world burns...

GOD'S GIFT TO US - SLAUGHTER UPON SLAUGHTER

Is it not time to wake up world to the fact that religion is an all pervading cancer that severs the arteries of humanity and drowns us all in blood?

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/iraq/article4122315.ece


LET THE WOMEN AND BABIES BE SLAUGHTERED

THAT OLD DEVIL CALLED GOD AGAIN

So the rape, mutilation and slaughter of women and the dismembering of babies and children matter not a jot or tittle; to such insignificant matters one can turn a blind eye, but threaten a 'holy site' and all hell breaks out. Fighters in their droves emerge, nation states and their leaders rise up, something now is at stake, something worth dying for.......

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.599551

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

THAT OLD DEVIL CALLED GOD AGAIN - FIRST REVIEW

Revd Dr Allan Winthrop is Director of the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and the Clinical Director of the Psychological Therapies Clinic at Teeside University. He writes:


This book is indeed going to be very controversial. I very much liked the honesty of the book but I found myself wondering how much honesty can the majority of people bear ?

T.S. Elliott said "Mankind can bear very little reality."  How much true questioning of their own lives and beliefs can people tolerate? As a psychologist, I come across this all the time. People won't make the changes they need to because they don't want the consequences and personal responsibilities they would bring. They prefer instead to blame their parents, partner, job, finances, government, God etc and keep on "suffering". They often persecute others from a victim position " Look what you've done to me" etc.

I fear that the first two parts of the book ('Tough Talk) may be such a jolt to some that they don't go on to read the rest. This would be such an enormous shame as I think in the latter parts of the book it is clear that love and compassion are present in all the alternative suggestions given.

I think many people may not be able to "cope" with the all out assault on the bible, Immaculate Conception, resurrection, transubstantiation etc.

I think the author has been incredibly courageous to write a book that is so directly challenging of religious beliefs as being the source of so much pain and bloodshed in the world.

I think the book will produce strongly polarised reactions. Some will really love the book and it's freshness and honesty.  Others will I feel, hate and despise it. It is quite likely that as a result of people not wanting to hear and acknowledge certain things, they will blame the author for pointing them out. I think it is likely that he will receive abuse and vitriol as a result of him writing what many people may think in private.

When I started reading this book I found myself unsure as to the author's motivation. I was unsure whether this was someone who was launching a virulent attack and had lost all faith or was someone so incensed and disgusted at the death and destruction being caused in the name of religion. Therefore in an effort to "wake people up" and call "enough is enough" he was being confrontational by stripping away things that people have accepted for years. I was worried that he may have ended up throwing the baby out with the bath water. However, I think for those who do stick with it to the other parts of the book, they will be able to see love and compassion underlying its stance.

In the author's previous book "For God's Sake Don't Go To Church" (which I believe is a brilliant book) the reader is left in no doubt as to his motivations and struggles throughout and gets to know him as a person. In this book I don't think people will get to know him till later in the book and many may have stopped reading before then.

There is no soft and gentle way to suggest the things he is saying and them still have a strong impact so I don't know how he could have said it differently.

I think for those people who have what I would call " blind faith" they will be unable to question and review their faith and they will continue to believe in an unexamined faith, "because they do and always have done". This is exactly one of the points the author makes about our culture, upbringing, indoctrination etc

I think the author uses some sound psychological and anthropological concepts to help explain his viewpoint. I think logically and rationally there is little with which anyone can argue.

However in the same way we allow the Church of England exemption from employment law, we give religion and faith informal exemption from the laws of science and the social sciences. So I'm unsure how convincing people will find the points made, valid, as I believe them to be. I don't know if they will allow themselves to take hold of their beliefs and test and examine them. Instead clinging to a special exemption from thinking logically and scientifically about matters of faith.

I didn't fully understand why Jade featured in the book. The only thing I could think of was that it was a marketing strategy. I understood some of the points being made but didn't see how the addition of your work with Jade added to the book. The preface calling the author Jade Goody's Bishop and special additional features and the competition to me felt a bit tacky and book sales orientated.

It may well be that the decision to include Jade will indeed lead to more readers who engage with the book, I'm not sure. You can be sure though, that given today's society, the transubstantiation and resurrection issues will be glossed over, but Jades candlesticks and the competition will be a point highlighted strongly by any critics of your book. A bit like "We don't want to talk about that difficult stuff ... now here are some celebrity candlesticks." I'm sure people will even ask for photos of them.

I really admire the courage and strength of the author's convictions. I think that there may be "trouble ahead" because of the book. However, I am sure that there will be many who also would want to share a view of ministry as being all inclusive love and engagement with the world.  

http://www.christian-alternative.com/books/that-old-devil-called-god-again

Monday, June 16, 2014

SIR MICHAEL WILSHAW IS A SMUG FELLOW

 Sir Michael Wilshaw is a smug fellow, well oiled and able to play around with the idea of fines for the poor while he dines with the rich. We sometimes have most to fear from those who have risen from humble beginnings to positions of prestige. Perhaps he ought to turn his attention to the emotional deficit of rich children, the abusive pressure rich parents exert on their offspring to fly high and the moral vacuum that appears to exist in so many ruthless succeeders. Perhaps they should be fined and the children who aren't exam chasing should be left alone. They have much to teach us.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/article4121386.ece

BRUTAL STATE JAILS MESSY PARENTS - NORTH KOREA? NO ENGLAND

Was I hearing this right, reading this right or had I slipped into a dream? Parents who love their kids and have raised one to teenage years have been jailed because their house was a mess and their kids were dirty,  OMG! The kids are distraught but Detective Miles reassures us - "There are no winners but I'm pleased to say that since the children have moved into a caring and loving environment they have shown encouraging signs of improvement and their future is bright again." 

Is it?!

When we know that many children in care end up in prison!

Another case of child snatching in the name of middle class interference. 

And what about those pasty faced, music lesson crammed, weirdly old before their time, public schooled, separated from their parents by money and advantage chasing youngsters of the rich?

Aren't they so blatantly abused?

However their Mummy's and Daddy's have a  maid to iron their clothes, another to clean their bedrooms and yet another to run their baths and comb their hair so they won't be ending up in prison.

Meanwhile the workers who provide their income are being shot outside South African mines, or are manufacturing the weapons to shoot them with or are part of some racket that exploits others for the gain of the few. 

So Detective Miles, Judge Tabor and the institution's crew are really saying, 'Actually we work the system to ensure we are the winners and you the losers and oh my, our future is bright!'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-27868874

Friday, June 13, 2014

BLOODBATH

 The bloodbath began the moment we invaded.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article4117989.ece

THE WORLD CUP HEADS US TOWARDS ARMAGEDDON

 This World Cup demonstrates the decadence, corruption and  moral torpidity of the culture of the rich world. Beware, our planet is in ferment. The revolution in its myriad forms has begun. We must change course or face a new Armageddon.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/international/article4117615.ece

NICK GARGAN REINFORCES THE ADAGE - DON'T TRUST A COPPER

 Again, a prompt for us to re-educate ourselves, that we cannot adopt a default position of trusting those in authority. They are the ones to be most suspicious about, because they wield power over others.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article4117531.ece

NO MORE KILLING IN OUR NAME

 The grave deception is that the West hides its economic and political interests behind the facade of advancing democracy when in overlooking a repressive, brutal and partisan regime in Baghdad it has helped create this present conflagration that further shatters the middle east along sectarian lines. You won't deceive us a second time with spurious arguments about the need for military intervention. Do not kill and maim in our name any more.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/leaders/article4117438.ece

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

YOO - CANTERBURY AND ROME

Repeated the world over - institutionalised Christianity ( as all religion ) is rotten to the core. Forgotten are the long lost tenets of a fledgling faith abut love and goodness and in their place, power, money and corporate protectionism. Whether its Yoo in Korea, paedophile clerics in the Anglican church or child murdering nuns in the Roman Catholic church - it's the same story.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article4115762.ece

LEAVE ENDANGERED CYCLISTS ALONE

 Please don't let isolated rare cases like this prompt calls for heavy handed legislation further wrapping life up in regulation and squeezing common sense from our everyday lives. Unless all roads have protected cycle lanes then pavements should be available to slow, careful, courteous and sensibly riding cyclists, especially when we know the alternative is a high probability of death if they venture onto many busy roads.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article4115545.ece

BIG BROTHER STATE STEALS BABIES TO IMPRISON THEM

 The ugly face of big brother state peering down its nose at the 'less fortunate' and believing it has the right to steal their babies, only to screw up their lives and imprison them years later.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4114860.ece

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

CLOSE FAITH SCHOOLS

All faith schools must be closed. Education must be offered without partiality or vested interest. One cannot object to Islamic practices while accommodating Christian and Jewish ones. Government alone must be responsible for our schools and curriculum.


The existence of faith schools is the greatest threat to our modern society. It allows the old to continue to entrap young minds and perpetuate their blinkered thinking. It sanctions the imprisonment of young lives in nonsensical traditions and restrictive cultural practices. It spawns fundamentalist thought and the excesses of dogmatism that can lead into terrorism and extremism. 
There is no logic or rationale for secular government to permit them. They continue purely because the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish community have such wealth and power. Their schools cannot easily be closed and so, in our equal society, other faiths are invited to open schools also. 
The Birmingham experience has illustrated just how offensive it is for a school to assume Christmas celebrations should be observed.
It is time to rid the country of religious schools and remove from education the marking of any particular faith's beliefs, festivals and customs.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/leaders/article4115023.ece

DISGUSTING MICK JAGGER

This is wholly disgusting and the vilest affront to L'Wren Scott. Strip the man of his knighthood and let's stop worshipping fallen idols.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/article4113543.ece

ARE MUSLIM PARENTS GOING TO BE ARRESTED NOW?

 Last week Social Services and police arrested the parents of an obese child. If following the same approach, when are they going to arrest the parents of children who:
- segregate their children according to  gender
- imprison their daughters in hijabs and curtail their ability to pursue their chosen careers, date who they choose and adopt the lifestyle of the country in which they live
- model and encourage sexist attitudes with their sons?

Monday, June 09, 2014

A SPIKE IN HOMELESSNESS

 I am afraid all this is posturing.  I worked for many years with the homeless, have provided them with accommodation and even accommodated them in my own home, but Boris Johnson, Kris Hopkins, Peter John, Charles Hunt and Jacqui McCluskey while saying the 'right things' would I suspect not take kindly to a homeless person setting up their cardboard bedroom outside their own front doors and urinating on their door steps. Even though the image of spikes has gone viral and votes, finance and reputations are in the balance, let them remain honest and realistic. 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4113532.ece

POOR GARY BARLOW

 The world of using and being used, where being loved or being hated are flip sides of a consuming predatory dynamic, as fickle as the flick of the current story.  Pity all those attending - more lambs for the slaughter. Much safer and healthier to be at home and to build a real life with those who really love you.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4112923.ece

SELF INTERESTED RELIGION

All religion is about the desire for gain.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/africa/article4112732.ece

PEACE POPE

Congratulations on Francis using his position to try and create a breakthrough.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4112864.ece

HEADING TO HITLER

Is this the direction we want Europe to set?

Will this be the culture of tomorrow's world?

We must resign such wretched attitudes to history.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4112854.ece

SHAME ON BEXLEY. SHAME ON OUR BROKEN CARE SYSTEM

Although looked after children represent only 1% of children in this country, a quarter of those held in young offender institutions have been in care.

Half of all prisoners under 25 have been in care.

https://fullfact.org/factchecks/were_quarter_prisoners_in_care_as_children-28547

Friday, June 06, 2014

BLOODY RELIGION

Amritsar Golden Temple style.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article4111154.ece

THE SOCIAL SERVICES AND POLICE INVADE FAMILY LIFE

BEWARE A POLICE STATE. BEWARE SOCIAL SERVICES. If ordinary families don't rise up in protest it will be your children next.

The police imprison 11 year old children in adult cells and so break the law and abuse them? The social services tear children from their birth parents against their will and cause a lifetime of trauma? Meanwhile obese adults addicted to food, sex, pain killers, drugs, porn and the rest opine moralistically against others. Who is arresting the parents of the white faced, privately tutored, music lesson forced abused kids of the rich?

Are they going to arrest the executives that advertise and market fatty foods to the young?

Are there no obese adults? Who is being arrested?

Are they going to arrest the rich who send their children  to board at private school to suffer emotional neglect and predatory sexual advances.

The  rich abuse their children with impunity, while the middle class do gooders target the poor to receive sanctions.

And what about the rich kids exposed to their parents drug taking, and ambition chasing and career prioritising - are they going to be arrested too?

 The authorities should keep their noses out of what is not their business unless the grossest abuse is taking place, like rich parents packing their vulnerable kids off to boarding school because they can't be bothered to bring them up.



http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4111137.ece

SISTER CRISTINA SCUCCIA'S PRISON

 Cristina, stop hiding that which is true within you inside a black cloth prison.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4110876.ece

ROMAN CATHOLIC MURDER

That Old Devil Called God Again

Pity the poor defenceless children, unloved, unburied that fell into the cruel hands of the Roman Catholic church.

The real horror is that people will still go to church.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4110268.ece

Thursday, June 05, 2014

A FANCY DRESS DISASTER

Think twice before donning a gorilla costume..

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4110035.ece

JULIETTE D'SOUZA AND THE WOO-WOO

That Old Devil Called God Again

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article4109178.ece

EXECUTE MERIAM SAYS BROTHER

That Old Devil Called God Again

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sudan/10877279/Meriam-Ibrahim-should-be-executed-her-brother-says.html

OUR EXPERIENCE OF APPLYING TO BEXLEY TO FOSTER

ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE
OUR EXPERIENCE OF APPLYING TO BEXLEY TO FOSTER

Early last year we applied to Bexley to foster. We have a happy stable and loving home and wanted to open it to vulnerable children.

There is a national shortage of foster carers and so many needy children are being passed from pillar to post, ending up traumatised and even finding themselves on the streets after Local Authority 'care'.

We have spent over a year going through the process. We have attended 5 days of training. Our children have attended a day's training. We have spent countless hours being interviewed.  The assessing social worker was in our home continually and investigating every area of our lives. We have spent money fulfilling the necessary requirements.

Throughout we were supported by the assessing social worker and her managers and they fully, wholeheartedly and absolutely recommended us  (Therefore, I have no reservations in recommending that the panel approve Annette and Jonathan as foster carers for Bexley Local Authority),  in the most glowing terms as you can read below. We had excellent references from a Headteacher, a teacher, a former schools inspector, a residentiary Canon at Durham cathedral  and many more. We had exemplary references from families in the community about Jonathan's work with children.

However, we were rejected.

Bexley's panel and the appeal panel ignored the report and the recommendation. In fact it seemed that they hadn't even read it. They were fixated on other 'unrelated'  issues.

When we were foster carers previously we exposed a Social Services scam to the Daily Telegraph.

Specifically that Social Services knowingly were placing adults into homes and school class rooms  pretending they were children and allowing them to groom, go out with and sleep with their class mates without alerting the foster carers, the school or any other authorities to the scam.

We had two 'young teenagers' placed with us allegedly from Kosovo whose parents had been murdered during the war. They had been in foster care for three years before being placed with us.

During the two years they were with us, we managed to discover what Social Services were concealing. The 'boys' were actually men, not from Kosovo but Albania, and were scamming the system to gain a free education and send their fostering allowance plus other money they were secretly earning back to their families, all of whom were alive and well, so that they could build an additional home on a family plot in the capital Tirana.

We raised the matter with the fostering agency and Social Services but they were not concerned because they said it was a well-known issue, about which they were willing to do nothing.

We decided we had to contact the Daily Telegraph to alert other families to the dangers such a scam was posing to their children.

Bexley and the appeal panel were panicked that if we uncovered further corruption, malpractice or found that crass Social services decisions were traumatising children, we would not sit silently by, but would protest.

They didn't want foster carers who were willing to challenge authority but ones willing to be subservient and compliant, even when the needs of children were being threatened.

Democracy and good practice depends on whistle-blowers. However the truth is, Social Services doesn't want them or welcome them, in fact they actively discriminate against them.

They also didn't like the fact that I worked publicly, had a web site with my address on it. They didn't like the fact that I comment about events in society and campaign on social issues and against injustice.

They were concerned about my web site that urged families under investigation by Social Services to video record every meeting that took place with the social workers and other related professionals so they have an objective record of what had taken place to be able to produce to protect themselves and their children in case the Social Services or others were going to take action against them.

It was clear that they wanted to protect their advantage irrespective of whether it resulted in unjust outcomes for children.

We considered taking our rejection to Judicial Review, however, realised that even if we were successful, we could not work within such a compromised and self interested structure, and it would not be safe to do so.

However, it is important that the rot in Bexley and the National Fostering Authority is known and pressure mounted to effect change.
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

TRAINING COMMENTS

Annette presented with a good sense of humour and a lively, warm and positive personality. She contributed well in group work during training and individually. She was confident and open, sharing personal experiences and was often the first to speak about a new topic in the large group. Annette has a diverse attitude and was able to critically analyse.
Annette thought deeply about safe caring. She had a good understanding and non-judgemental attitudes and a risk sensible approach.
Annette showed understanding and empathy. She participated well in role-play and was able to 'put herself' in the shoes of the character, resulting in insightful thought and reflection.
Annette presented as very family orientated.
Annette adopts a common sense approach seeing the child as an individual with his or her own unique set of circumstances.

Jonathan presented as a friendly, articulate, intelligent, sensitive and warm individual. He consistently showed respect for the other members of the group. He listened to other members in group discussions and took on board their opinions. He shared personal amusing information.

Jonathan has a friendly manner about him (body language, facial expressions, tone of voice) which would be good for a looked after child.

Jonathan was observed to have good interpersonal skills and made people feel at ease.

He was aware of diversity and the importance of accepting people for who they are and adopting a non-judgemental attitude.

Similar to Annette, Jonathan was very family orientated.

Jonathan was good at communicating in a clear and non-patronising manner to ensure he was understood.

ASSESSMENT COMMENTS

Annette was very open & honest with me as the assessor and I found her to be a warm & compassionate person.  Annette has a loving and nurturing approach to parenting and I have observed a secure attachment to all three of her children in the home. 
Annette is attuned to her children and is able to predict their needs and wants. 

Referees have also commented on the ‘quality’ of Annette’s parenting.

Annette has led a productive life as an adult and moreover she has been able to sustain a healthy & loving marriage with Jonathan as well as sustain positive & appropriate relationships with others.

Jonathan is a warm, genuine and compassionate person who I found to be broad minded and very tolerant of others, which again, are qualities that we look for in a foster carer.  I also found Jonathan to be transparent and refreshingly honest.

 Jonathan is a very warm and caring person and an amazing father to his three children.

Annette and Jonathan have a wholesome attitude towards others and neither appear to have any prejudices or discriminatory attitudes that may impact on their ability to promote a child’s identity, whilst in their care. What is more, Annette and Jonathan have a child focused family orientated value base, which in turn will support them to address any concerns they have regarding the child’s identity. 

Annette and Jonathan are attuned to their own children’s needs and I am confident that they will able to transfer this to the Looked After Child in order to raise their self-esteem, as well as improve the way they regard themselves.  Both carers have an innate ability to see the world through a child’s eyes (also reflected at training) and I have no doubt that they will challenge any prejudice in an appropriate way if any arose.

Annette and Jonathan have a very good attitude towards education and both are considered to be supportive parents who always attend parent’s evenings or any other events arranged by school.  Furthermore, they were reported to be supportive of the boy’s homework assignments and thought to provide opportunities that promote learning.  (See references from both schools for a full report)

I am confident that Annette and Jonathan have the ability to fully promote the educational life chances of all Looked After Children in their care.  Furthermore, they will promote additional opportunities to encourage, motivate and facilitate the necessary learning that will be tailored to the child’s individual needs.  Annette is very loving and nurturing and Jonathan is very creative in his ideas so together, as a team, they will ensure a child achieves educational attainment despite the challenges faced by Looked After Children. 
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

Annette and Jonathan have a good attitude towards employment and both promote their children’s education in order for them to secure future employment & economic well-being. 

During the assessment, it was evident that they have transferable skills that will greatly benefit children & young people of all ages. 

Jonathan has also led a very interesting and thought-provoking life that on balance, I believe would greatly benefit a Looked After Child in his care. 

Annette and Jonathan maintain good health and both have a positive outlook on life.  Jonathan especially believes in promoting children’s health by way of engaging them spiritually i.e. allowing plenty of time for them to express themselves as well as their views and Annette encourages the boys to participate in the menu planning as well as cooking.  

As a family, they maintain a well-balanced and varied diet. Neither, Annette or Jonathan smokes and both have a positive attitude to maintaining their health.

Medicals for both applicants were clear and the recommendation was ‘fit to foster’.

Annette and Jonathan are very engaging & energetic people who actively encourage their children to partake in leisure activities as well as to explore new recreational interests.  l am confident that they will encourage children and young people placed with them to engage in constructive leisure activities as this will also promote a positive sense of self.

Annette and Jonathan are aware that Looked After Children need support to engage as well as to make and sustain positive friendships within their peer groups.  I have no doubt that they will be able to support a Looked After Child as their interests are flexible and often carried out as a family unit.

It is evident that Annette and Jonathan manage their life through remaining open with each other as well as maintaining clear communication.  Decisions are made jointly and I have observed an equal partnership.

They have presented as being open and honest throughout my involvement and on occasions Annette has told Jonathan he was being ‘too honest’. It was quite refreshing to interview someone like Jonathan, who clearly wanted to remain very open and authentic during all of our meetings.

I have also experienced Annette and Jonathan as being quite a fun couple, who definitely have a lot of energy.  They maintain a positive outlook on life whereby they are happy, content, close and a very warm couple who want to offer a Looked After Child a positive experience of family life and the care system.

They are certainly stable and able to provide a foster placement to our Looked After Children and moreover, I am confident that a child will experience much love and warmth from all the family as well as from Annette and Jonathan as their foster carers.

When I interviewed them separately, both spoke lovingly about each other and both valued and had a lot of respect for their partner.  Annette referred to Jonathan as being the ‘most caring person she had ever met’.  She also described him as being very ‘artistic and in touch with his feminine side’.

Jonathan feels that ‘Nettie’ is the most ‘beautiful, loving and loyal person’ that he has ever met.  Nettie is Jonathan’s pet name for Annette.  He also spoke about her parenting and informed me that as a mother, she is warm, kind, caring and always available for her children no matter what time of the day it is.

It was evident that they know each other well and that their relationship continues to be successful and one built on trust.  Annette and Jonathan plan on ‘growing old together’.

They especially like to go on holidays as a family together and both feel that they would want to take a fostered child with them as they would be considered a part of their family.

Annette and Jonathan have given much consideration to how fostering will impact on their lives and both feel that they have the time, room and more importantly, the emotional space to take on the fostering task at this time in their lives.

I have no concerns about their ability to foster and to provide a high standard of care in line with the current Fostering Regulations and NMS 2011.
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

 As a family, they are very stable and all three children fully agree with their parent’s application to foster.

Annette and Jonathan are financially secure and will not rely on fostering as an income. They have a positive attitude towards finances and both are sensible in terms of budgeting and how the money is spent.

Annette and Jonathan have a positive attitude towards their finances in general and I have no concerns in this area of assessment.  They maintain a good standard of living and always ensure their mortgage and bills are paid on time. 

Their children all receive pocket money and all are given guidance on how to budget appropriately.

Annette and Jonathan will be able to support children & young people to manage their limited budget in order to prepare them for independence.

Annette and Jonathan appear to be motivated to foster as a result of them having an innate want and ability to provide children with a warm & loving home and moreover, to make a positive difference in the life of a Looked After Child.

As a couple, I feel that they have the knowledge and skills as well as the experience to become foster carers for Bexley.  They have all the necessary qualities that one would expect a carer to have and I am confident that with appropriate support and on-going training, they may also go on to complete more specialist training and provide placements for children with more complex needs, when their own children become adults.

Annette and Jonathan had a very negative experience of fostering previously however both are confident that this is something they still want to do.  Annette and Jonathan are committed to making a difference to children’s lives and it is evident by way of
this assessment, that the timing is right for them to become a fostering family.

As a family, they are very close and all three boys have a secure attachment to both parents.  The children are very much at ease around their parents and all were able to speak freely as well as independently. 

There is strong evidence to suggest a positive parenting style, good family support systems are in place and communication is very clear.  Both parents are emotionally available to the children and both parents provide appropriate guidance as well as set clear boundaries.

I found the boys to be individuals, active, confident, warm, kind, caring, funny and all had an age appropriate understanding of the fostering task and why some children need to be Looked After.  It was obvious that all three children had been informed about their parents wish to foster and moreover, Annette and Jonathan had ascertained their views in relation to them becoming a fostering family.

The eldest child is doing very well in school and currently achieving very good grades.  He has a good network of friends and is fully integrated into his community.  He is very active and likes to engage in most sports.  Currently he plays for the school Basket-ball team and I understand that he also plays cricket.

He is a charming young person whom I found to be warm, welcoming, intelligent & polite.  He always engaged with me and I particularly enjoyed speaking with him about fostering, as it was evident that he was informed and for his age, he had good insight into some of the emotional baggage that Looked After Children can bring with them into placement.  He understood that some parents were not able to look after their children if they were ‘ill or on drugs’. He presents as being very mature for his age and I found him easy to talk to.

When I spoke to him about his childhood experiences so far, his response was ‘I feel lucky to have parents who love me.

He described his household as being ‘half way between busy & calm’ and he thought this environment would ‘suit’ a fostered child as they all enjoy partaking in activities, even his Mum.  When I suggested that he would be a good role model for a fostered child, he blushed and said ‘yeah maybe’ however following further discussions he agreed that he had so much to offer, including sharing his friends, if appropriate in order to motivate a child to take part in leisure activities.

He also confirmed that his parents talked to them about a lot of things but they were ‘never smacked’.  He said that his father Jonathan usually did the disciplining which could involve time-out or loss of privileges such as their newly purchased mobile phones.  He explained how he and his brother had to contribute £5.00 towards the monthly payments out of their pocket money as they wanted the top of the range mobiles rather than the one his parents suggested.  He also thought this was a positive way of him and his brother learning how to budget their money.
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

The middle child and very close in age to his elder brother.  There is only 14 months between them and both boys have a good bond, displaying no sibling rivalry.  He attended St Thomas More school however is due to start secondary school in September. 

He, like his brother, is a charming young person whom I also found to be warm, welcoming, intelligent & polite.  He engaged well with me and was open & honest about his views of fostering.  He feels that his home would welcome a child, preferably a girl aged 4 or 5 years as he gets bored of just having boys around.  He also thought his Mum Annette would like a little girl who she could ‘sometimes do girlie things with’.  He said Annette was always taking them to the park  to do ‘fun things’.

He described his home life as being ‘fun’ whereby his parents like to be actively involved in family time.  He spoke to me about having family meals together around the big table in the dining room which is very child friendly, watching a family movie together on a Friday evening as well as going to Danson Park and seaside trips etc.  He said his Mum is a good cook and they all enjoy her chicken & pasta.  He also spoke about his gran, Annette’s mother who comes to visit however he felt that she was ‘old now so she doesn’t say much’.

He is very creative in the kitchen and his Mum encourages this talent, He told me that he has a special cupboard allocated to him in the kitchen with all his ingredients in as he likes to specialise in baking cakes & cookies etc.  He is also very good at photography, please see family photo album attached which he put together for a Looked After Child to see before they come to stay with them.

He was very chatty about his parents and described his father Jonathan as being a person who lets you ‘decide for yourself’.  He stated that he is not sure about god but that his father would only enter into conversations with him about it if he wanted to talk.  When I asked He about the chapel upstairs, he replied that they were not allowed to play in it but if they wanted to use it for a quiet space they could.

He also confirmed that the family do not believe or use physical punishment and that his father Jonathan has used a ‘behavioural contract’ with them before as well as positive re-enforcement strategies.

The youngest of the sibling group has lots of energy and is more than capable of letting his parents and brothers know about his wishes & feelings. He currently attends St Thomas More and like his brothers, he is well liked and achieving alongside his peer group. He is also actively involved in sports and currently plays football & basketball for his school team.  He wants to introduce a Looked After Child to his friends so they will have ‘someone to play with’.

He was very excited about meeting with me and sharing his views of fostering. He really is a lovely, vibrant little boy, always happy and smiling and moreover willing to talk about his parents, brothers and extended family members.

When I asked him about his family life, his eyes lit up and he could not wait to tell me about all the ‘naughty things’ his parent’s let him do.  He said they didn’t have to go to bed on new year’s eve until they fell down asleep.   He feels that Christmas is ‘magic’ in his house as his father ‘lights it all up’ and all the children in the street post their letters to Father Christmas at his house. 

I asked him if they received presents at Christmas time and he replied ‘yes, loads but we cannot open them all up at once’.  He  ran through the day which appeared to be full of festivities and fun as well as extended family coming over to visit.  Annette was central to all of this and her cooking was well respected, as opposed to Jonathan’s.  All three boys made comment and fun about Jonathan’s ‘crazy ideas’ when it came to cooking and all seem to prefer Annette’s cooking.
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE
He told me how he always has a bed time story read to him by either parent and that he wouldn’t mind if this had to happen in another room before going to bed, if there was a Looked After Child living with them.  He is only 7 years old however he was able to understand that some children may not feel safe to have a story read to them in the bedroom.  He was actually quite insightful and creative with his ideas about how this might be managed in order to still keep story time on the agenda.

Weekends and celebrations were his  favourite times and he spoke at length about how this happened and why he loved it so much.  It was evident that Annette and Jonathan place a huge emphasis on celebrating achievements and making sure that the child in question has their individual time & attention.

Annette and Jonathan have a secure and close relationship and both are very child focused in terms of their parenting style. 

They have equipped and prepared their children appropriately for fostering and I am confident that as a family, they will manage the transition well.

I am certain that they have taken into consideration the impact fostering may have on their own children and I am confident that they will manage the fostering task.

 Annette and Jonathan have an open and clear communication style with each other as well as with their children, so any issues/concerns will be discussed at an early stage and therefore a solution sought.

All three children have a secure attachment as well as a stable home-base and I feel that they are resilient and able to express any concerns should any arise whist they become a fostering family.  All three boys are confident, assertive and able to express their wishes and feelings freely, even the youngest.

All children feel that they can approach either parent and Annette and Jonathan remain emotionally available to them.  As a family, active listening is firmly on the agenda so I do not feel that Annette and Jonathan’s children are vulnerable in any way at this time. 

Annette and Jonathan are attuned to their children’s needs so any change in their behaviour would be noted at a very early stage and I am confident that both parents would take appropriate steps to address it.

In addition and probably by way of Jonathan’s spiritual work, he appears to have an ability to see the world through a child’s eyes and moreover he seems to have an innate ability to speak to children and motivate them to be the best that they can be. (See also reference from the Revd Canon Dr David Kennedy in Sec C who corroborates this.)

Annette and Jonathan have realistic expectations about fostering and I am confident that they will manage the competing demands, whilst continuing to safeguard and promote the welfare of their own three birth children.

Annette will be the main carer however Jonathan’s work is flexible and therefore he will be fully integrated into the fostering task.

As a couple, they fully understand that the needs of a Looked After Child have to be prioritised however both are of the view that together, they will be able to meet those needs.

Annette and Jonathan were able to take on board that Looked After Children may need additional support when they are placed, as often, they can be behind their peers in terms of their behaviour and development.  Annette is a very warm and nurturing woman who is resilient and very sympathetic towards children who have suffered abuse and trauma in their own lives.  Jonathan’s patience, encouragement & spiritual expertise will also be an asset to children and young people who are stuck or perhaps having difficulty in managing their emotions or expressing themselves to adults.  Both I feel, will be able to see the world through a child’s eyes and with professional support from their SSW, I feel that they will be able to meet the child’s current and ever changing needs as well as be able to promote their welfare in accordance to their care plan.
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

I found Annette and Jonathan to be skilled in communication and both maintain a non-judgemental and child centred approach.  They are also an active family and both continue to encourage their own children to participate in constructive leisure activities, which in turn, will build up a child’s self-esteem as well as help them to initiate and sustain positive relationships with their peers. This support will be significant and paramount to a Looked After Child and in certain circumstances, a real life changer.

Furthermore, All three boys are open to sharing their home as well as their parents, so I do not anticipate any problems that cannot be resolved at a very early stage of concern.  Annette and Jonathan were also previously approved as foster carers with an IFA so they do have some knowledge & experience of the competing demands of fostering, as well as some of the issues that can arise as a result of looking after other people’s children.

Annette and Jonathan have an extremely good insight into the components that make up our sense of identity, or describe who we are as a person.  Both are attuned to their children and I would say to others as well and in addition, I found them both to be open to new ideas and able to take advice on board.  Given all of Jonathan’s worldly experience, he never once thought of himself as ‘knowing everything’ or interrupted when others were speaking about their views, even if they were more simplistic.

I have no concerns in this area of practice and I am confident that they will be more than capable of meeting the needs of a Looked After Child placed with them in terms of their identity.  Both have addressed issues of diversity during their lives and I am confident that they will be able to support a child to address any issues of diversity that may arise whilst they are placed in their care.

Annette and Jonathan are a very warm & secure couple who always maintain clear communication as well as clear boundaries for their children. Therefore, I am confident that if fostering children was starting to affect their relationship they would both be able to discuss this at a very early stage in order to address any difficulties they may be experiencing.

Their day to day lifestyle is very suitable for Looked After Children and I would anticipate only minor changes following a child being placed with them.  This I feel would be around the school runs.

Annette and Jonathan are aware of the commitments around contact arrangements and both feel that this is a very significant part of the child’s life.  During the assessment, both were able to ascertain the importance of maintaining relationships for children in care and I feel that this is something that Annette & Jonathan will do well.  

A fostered child will have a positive experience of family life and a very warm welcome when they arrive at placement. 

I am confident that a ‘fostered child’ will have a positive experience of family life as well as feeling the security of their ‘stickability’ as individuals as well as a secure family unit.

Annette and Jonathan have a broad range of experience of caring for children from the ages of 0-18 years. 

I believe that they have the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide placements to all of our Looked After Children, as well as our adolescents. 
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

Furthermore, during their first year of practice they will develop the confidence needed to support children with more complex needs as I firmly believe that they have the skills to manage this.

In addition to the above and by way of their nature, I am of the view that Annette and Jonathan will be able to manage the needs of children who have a learning disability or children that have suffered abuse & neglect.  Both were very insightful during skills to foster training and both have had previous fostering experience so they are not entering this process wearing rose tinted glasses.

Annette and Jonathan were able to recognise symptoms of abuse during training as well as within the assessment process.

Annette and Jonathan have a healthy attitude towards training as well as further developing their skills as carers, so I am confident that as their experience grows and their children get older, they will also be able to work with traumatised children who are displaying anti-social / oppositional type behaviours.  Furthermore, I feel that Jonathan’s spiritual pathway and certainly his patience will be an asset when working with traumatised children & adolescents.

Annette and Jonathan are aware of the importance of promoting contact arrangements for Looked After Children and both, are fully committed to promoting these arrangements in line with the child’s current care plan.  Annette was very compassionate when we discussed contact arrangements stating ‘can you imagine how a child would feel if they thought they would never see their family again’.

Annette was also insightful into some of the reasons why contact might be difficult for a child i.e. they feel like they are betraying or being disloyal to a parent and what she could do to help minimise a child’s distress over these arrangements. 

We spoke about defining roles i.e. child led and allowing the child to make
decisions for example about what name they would like to refer to you as and to also be aware that this may change depending on where the child is i.e. in the school playground it may feel easier to the child to just say ‘bye mum’ etc.

Jonathan is also a very creative thinker so if the child needed additional support or perhaps some quality one to one time for reflection or fun, I believe that Jonathan would easily fit that role.  Furthermore, if a child was in their care around Christmas time or a time of personal or cultural celebration, I am confident that Annette and Jonathan would make an enormous effort to help the child celebrate in the face of any adversity.

 I have experienced Annette and Jonathan as being warm, loving and open people who genuinely appear to want to make a difference to a child’s life.  Annette is very transparent and filled with love for children whilst Jonathan is always seeking to promote opportunities, including facilitating a sense of adventure that will help them to grow and develop alongside their peer groups.

Annette and Jonathan also understand the importance of Looked After Children maintaining links with their birth family and friends and both are willing to facilitate these arrangements. Annette and Jonathan both drive and there are two cars in the family so practically, I do not envisage any problems with managing contact.

Finally, Annette and Jonathan have very good interpersonal skills and I am confident that they will be able to work with birth families, even if difficulties arise.  Jonathan has a good understanding of conflict management and he would be able to de-escalate a situation, as would Annette in order to minimise the harm or conflict for the child.

  Annette and Jonathan have been married for over 13 years and maintain a loving and close stable relationship. They reside in a beautiful 6 bedroom house in Welling with their three children, and their family pet, Fluffy the dog.  Jonathan also has two children, from his previous marriage.

They are a warm and caring couple who will be a stable and reliable fixture in a child’s life.  Annette and Jonathan have the qualities that we look for in foster carers as they are a flexible, transparent and realistic in their approach.   They understand that children will come to placement with emotional baggage, however I have observed their parenting styles with their own children and they are attuned and therefore, will be able to meet the needs of a child placed with them. 
ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

Jonathan is also a spiritual person who is skilled in communication and will therefore be an asset to a child, in terms of helping them to deal with issues around separation & loss. 

As a couple, they are both accepting of others, emotionally available as well as possessing a positive parenting style approach.  Behaviour management of a Looked After Child, in my opinion should come naturally to them as it will not be too dis-similar to the way they parent their own birth children.  Supporting children to build resilience & raise self-esteem is something that I am confident about; as Annette fully understands the need for children to overcome the adversity they have experienced in order to make a successful transition to adulthood. 

Annette is a stay at home mum so she is available on a full time basis to meet the needs of the children placed.  She is a very resilient and resourceful woman who has managed to move forward in life and overcome extreme hardship and childhood trauma.  The parenting she received as a child, has not in any way impacted on her ability to display emotional warmth to her own children and moreover it has not prevented her from safeguarding & promoting her own children’s welfare.  In contrast, I believe that Annette is a loving & caring person who always places the needs of her children before that of her own. 

Jonathan remains in practice as an independent Archbishop and therefore his availability and working hours remain flexible.

Jonathan was able to share intimate details with me by way of having to discuss and explore the break-up of his marriage . Jonathan remained available to me as the assessor and ensured that he continued with the assessment process irrespective of the pain it was causing him.  Annette was fully supportive of Jonathan during this time as well as remaining engaged with me as appropriate to the assessment.  The children from his first marriage corroborated Jonathan’s version of events pertaining to him being a wonderful father.

I feel Annette and Jonathan demonstrated a real commitment to the assessment process whereby I found them to be open and honest and both; were able to continue with the process even during times of great emotional difficulty, which further evidences their ‘stickability’ as potential foster carers.

Annette and Jonathan have relevant experience as they were approved as foster carers with SFP Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) in 2000. They resigned in May 2003.

During my involvement with Annette and Jonathan, they have demonstrated good insight into the needs of Looked After Children through attending the skills to foster training as well as actively partaking in the assessment process and completing all homework assignments set.  They worked on completing sections of their record & resource book enthusiastically and both were able to reflect on their own experiences appropriately. They were able to report on ‘what do foster carers do’, including highlighting the things they believe they have to offer Looked After Children in their care.  As a couple, they were able to draw on their life experiences, comprising what have they learnt to date and what they feel they have to offer as foster carers for Bexley.  It was evident that with the appropriate support of a SSW, as well as professional training they will be able to provide a good standard of care to children who are placed with them.

I believe that a child in foster placement with Annette and Jonathan and their family, will have an inclusive, positive & nurturing experience of being in foster care. Their home is very child friendly and there are be lots of opportunities to enjoy & achieve as well as to engage in leisure activities. 

Referees describe Annette and Jonathan as being warm, kind, caring & nurturing.  Honest and reliable were also a common theme and I have to say that this has also been my experience when working with them. 

Though exploration & analysis, I have found no reason why Annette and Jonathan should not be approved as foster carers for Bexley.  Jonathan's older children, informed me that he was ‘an amazing father’.

Their strengths are their closeness as a couple, previous life experiences as well as their own parenting experiences.  In addition, they also have previous fostering experience and Jonathan’s day to day life as an Archbishop.

Their vulnerabilities as a couple are their previous actions of not working in partnership with the SFP Organisation and this area of practice in particular will be monitored closely by their allocated SSW, as well as identified as an action to be addressed in Sec F as a training need, in terms of promoting their on-going professional development.

On balance, I have thoroughly explored all concerns that were brought to my attention as the assessor; and I have found no reason why Annette and Jonathan should not be able to foster.

Therefore, I have no reservations in recommending that the panel approve Annette and Jonathan as foster carers for Bexley Local Authority.

I recommend that Annette and Jonathan be approved as foster carers for Bexley, to care for 1 child (2 if siblings),  either gender from 0 – 18 years, with a preference of age 4-11 years.   Short-term, Emergency, Bridging or Respite Placements.

Annette &; Jonathan would also like to be considered for a long term placement in the future; and they are aware that this means a commitment to the child/young person post 18 years.

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ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE

Facebook comments in reaction


  • Lesley Dennis My advice to you And Annette is thAt you try a private fostering agency and continue to expose the prejudices of the local authority
    .the decision to reject you is unbelievable
    13 hours ago · Edited · Like · 1
  • Bishop Blake Thank you dear Lesley. xx
    12 hours ago · Like · 1
  • Maria Kiteria amem nao entendo essa letrasSee Translation
  • Lesley Dennis Or you could try a neighbouring authority ..I am still in shock and would not be surprised if you did not want to give up..but hang on in there xx
  • Martyn Jinks Two people of great respect and especially your reputation Bishop I am truly shocked and annoyed that two upstanding members of society have been rejected....it's a shocking shame that the children are clearly missing out....part of my ministry is Chaplain to the CAHMS and I know the need for foster parents grows per day.....I pray that the panel reconsider the decision. Fr Martyn
  • Bishop Blake Thank you for these comments Martyn.
  • Christopher Morgan My dear Jonathan, I am SO very sad to hear this. I cannot think of anyone, and that includes Annette, that I would trust the care of children to. You are both inspirational parents who afford so many opportunities that most parents can only dream of . With love and prayers to you both.
  • Bishop Blake Thank you dear Christopher. Your words are heartening and healing.
  • Christopher Morgan They are from the heart. If I were a child in need of a home- living with you and Annette would be beyond a dream. I have seen you with my children and they love you so much. I have read your book, how to be an awesome dad and I wish I could live up to your challenge- I so hope that good sense will prevail as you have so much to give. X
  • Simon Whittaker Very sorry to hear it! 
    I would ask for a detailed report in their reasoning. 
    With the references and feedback you have shown, I would think it credible to apply to an alternative authority.
  • Bishop Blake They don't give detailed reasoning, just the briefest of points. and their system protecting points usurp the detailed and complex investigation the assessing social worker and her superiors conducted. Its a farce.
  • Frances Adam I am so sad for you but not surprised, I have recently had experience of working with Bexley social services and all I can say is how unprofessional and dangerous I found some of their child protective services to be. Their record keeping was a shamble...See More
  • Bishop Blake Thanks dear Frances. That's interesting and useful. xx
  • Nigel Dawson So sad to read, must be dissapointing for you both.
  • Bishop Blake We are disappointed for the children we could have helped. The Social Services assessor and her managers were so convinced we would be approved that they had three children waiting to place with us just before Christmas. However, we began to realise that our lives would have been taken over by the social services and that the system they operate is so flawed that it would likely only bring problems for ourselves and for our children. We met a foster carer who urged us to pull out saying Bexley were a nightmare to work with and the only reason she continued to hack it was because she needed the money. We heard of another foster carer who had been placed under investigation by Social Services for the most ludicrous reason and her and her family were going through hell and all because they had just wanted to help. All in all, we think on consideration we have been saved from making a mistake and can now take our social concern and our desire to help to safer outlets.
  • Vivienne Lacey my beautiful cousin Annette is the most caring nurturing snd most beautiful person in the world. She is like my big sister and even though I am on the other side of the world, I know what s fantastic mum and dad you both are. any child would be lucky to be part of your family. I love you all
  • ARCHBISHOP JONATHAN BLAKE IS INNOCENT-HE HELPED STOP A PAEDOPHILE