Child Arrangements Order (Live with/Spend time with)

The parties are encouraged to reach an agreement at the FHDRA. If that is not possible, the case may be adjourned for a more detailed CAFCASS report (if there are welfare issues or a child is of an age to be spoken to about wishes and feelings), a finding of fact hearing (if allegations of violence or abuse are made) or to monitor and progress an agreement. The adjournment may be for several months depending on the reason for adjournment.

At the first appointment consideration must be given to the possibility of setting up interim arrangements for contact and a CAFCASS Officer may be available at Court to facilitate discussions. The Court presumes that the involvement of a parent in a child’s life will promote the child’s welfare, providing it does not put the child or parent with care at risk of harm.

In the interim, the Court should make an order that is as neutral as possible so as not to prejudice either party at final hearing. Directions for case management eg Finding of fact, drug testing etc.

If supervised/supported contact is required then the parties may be invited to use the services of a Contact Centre. 'Supervised' contact is considered where there may be a risk to the child from the parent and close supervision by a third party is required to ensure contact takes place appropriately. This is quite rare in Private Law Proceedings. 'Supported' contact is more common. This is often where a child has not seen a carer for some time or there has been domestic abuse between the carers and a neutral venue is required for contact to take place initially. Whilst there will be childcare workers present at the venue during contact, they do not provide close supervision of the carer and child. This is not intended as a long-term measure, but more of a means to enable contact to be re established and progressed.

If ordered, the CAFCASS Officer's report will be sent to the Solicitors for the parties and then instructions can be taken as to its contents. The hope is that once the Report is known to the parties, the matter can be agreed and possibly concluded. However, if either the CAFCASS report is to be contested or the parties can still not resolve the matter, then at a Dispute Resolution Hearing directions will be given for both parties to file statements and a final hearing may be scheduled.

When making any Child Arrangement Order, the Court can direct a parent to take part in activities that will promote contact with a child or make it a condition of the order. Activities can include attending at classes, counselling, guidance/information and advice sessions. For example, if there are issues of domestic violence, a parent might be ordered to undertake counselling for anger management before the issue of contact could go on to be considered further. There may be cases where both parents are referred to the Separated Parenting Information Programme (SPIP) to try and assist them to work together for the benefit of the children. The SPIP is a 4 hour programme focussed on the needs of children and co-parenting after a separation. It is about recognising the damage that conflict over separation can do to children, not general parenting skills.

A Prohibited Steps Order directs that no step which could normally be taken by a parent in meeting their responsibility shall be taken without the consent of the Court.  Examples of this are where a parent disagrees with a proposed course of action by the other parent.

Examples can include organising a christening or where a parent is normally allowed to take the child out of the country for one month but if the other parent has worries that in taking the child out of the jurisdiction, the child may not be returned, then an application like this would be in order. 

Specific Issue Orders are similar to prohibited steps; save that the Court will make a direction that a certain step should be taken despite the fact that one parent disagrees.  Examples include a decision to change the child's surname, choice of schools, religious upbringing or medical treatment. 

Emergency or Interim Orders in Private Law Proceedings (usually without notice to the other party) can be applied for, but only in exceptional circumstances will the Court consider making such an Order.  An application would be made and the Court asked to make a decision on one point only, which would later be heard within the context of the whole application.

 For example, where parents have recently separated and the child is living with one parent who has reasonable cause to believe that the other parent may attempt to snatch the child; the parent with care could go to the Court and ask for an Interim prohibited steps order to prevent removal.  If the other parent then attempted to take the child without the consent of the parent with care, the police mat assist in recovery but if not the Court could make enforcement orders.

If a parent fails to comply with a Child Arrangements Order, enforcement can include an unpaid work requirement, compensation, a fine or imprisonment.  An Enforcement Order will not however be made if a parent has a reasonable excuse for breach on a balance of probabilities.

In addition, there are other strategies the Court will consider where there are difficulties.  The first is appointing an independent Guardian from CAFCASS (the organisation mentioned earlier) as a Guardian for the child.  This Guardian appoints a Solicitor on behalf of the child and they act independently of the Court and of the parents to make recommendations about what is in the child’s best interests.

In some circumstances, the Court may also consider transferring the residence of a child to the non resident parent if the parent with care has been totally resistant to contact without reasonable cause.  The Courts will however be slow to change a child’s residence without giving the resident parent a chance to understand what has gone wrong and to remedy it, providing that course of action is compatible with the child’s best interests.  Changing the residence of the child has to be a last resort, as it is punishing a child as much as it is the parent with care with the child being removed from their usual home

A Special Guardianship Order is an order appointing a person or persons to be a Child’s Special Guardian.  The Special Guardian will have Parental Responsibility for the child and subject to any later Order, may exercise Parental Responsibility to the exclusion of all others with Parental Responsibility, apart from another Special Guardian. 

The intention is that the Special Guardian will have clear responsibility for all the day to day decisions about caring for the child or young person and his or her upbringing.  Unlike adoption, this Order retains the basic legal link with the parents.  They remain legally the child’s parents, although their ability to exercise their Parental Responsibility is limited.

Any person who wishes to make an application for a Special Guardianship Order must give 3 months’ written notice to the Local Authority of their intention to apply.

At the same time as making a Special Guardianship Order, the Court can determine other issues such as whether existing Orders, e.g. contact, need to be varied or give leave for the child to be known by a new surname.