Overview

• The inquest opened on June 2 at Sheffield Coroner’s Court to examine the decision to place a 12-year-old boy, known as Child X, with experienced foster carers Marcia and Delroy Grant in an emergency call-out on March 30, 2023.
• Social worker David Wade told the court he opposed the placement due to potential harm to the Grants’ resident foster child and said he was unaware of Child X’s self-reported gang-related history and knife possession.
• Matthew Boud, then head of Rotherham Council’s children in care service, defended the six-day placement as the best available alternative to unsuitable settings such as hotels or distant homes.
• Child X’s supervising social worker, Tessa Goodacre, said she observed no troubling behavior during his stay beyond a prior youth caution for knife possession.
• The five-day hearing will assess the support provided to the Grants and whether council oversight and emergency placement protocols were sufficient before Mrs Grant’s death on April 5, 2023.