Cafcass stands for Children and Family Court and Support Service. Cafcass’s role is to represent the interests of children and young people in Family Court cases in England.
What does Cafcass focus on?
They focus on the children’s wishes and feelings, making sure that their voices are heard and that they are at the forefront when making decisions. Cafcass has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children going through the family justice system.
It is not easy for the parents nor the children during this process, and there are very few occasions when the children are physically involved in the Court proceedings and therefore Cafcass play a pivotal role to ensure that they convey the child’s wishes and feelings to the Judge.
As soon as a Children Act application is lodged at Court a copy of the same is sent directly to Cafcass with a direction for them to prepare a safeguarding letter, which is considered the first step in assisting the Court in trying to resolve the issues.
At this stage, Cafcass will undertake welfare checks including police and social services checks followed by speaking with the parties to ascertain their view and position. At this stage, the author of the letter may suggest that due to no welfare or safeguarding concerns that they no longer are required to be involved and the parties will need to reach an agreement themselves, failing to do so will mean that the matter will need to be listed for a Final Hearing.
The alternative is that the author may suggest that Cafcass is required to conduct further work with the family including meeting the parties and the child/children involved and filing a section 7 report, in which they are obliged to consider the ‘welfare checklist’ and make recommendations in line with the best interests of the child/children.
Should a party contest the recommendations within a report then the matter will need to be listed for a final hearing whereby the allocated Cafcass officer will be required to attend and be subject to cross-examination.
On 2nd April 2024, Ofsted published the report of its full inspection of Cafcass. Cafcass were graded in three areas of their work:
- The quality and effectiveness of private law practice
- The quality and effectiveness of public laws practice
- The impact of leaders on practice
In all three areas, Cafcass was Judged ‘Outstanding’.
The Report describes an organisation with an ‘unstinting’ focus on children’s safety, ensuring that their voices are not just heard, but understood.
The headline findings include:
- “Child engagement is strong and highly effective. Practitioners take time to understand how best to communicate with children, considering any disabilities or communication needs they may have. Children and their best interests are at the centre of decision-making that is clear and understandable for all involved.
- The quality of private law practice has continued to improve, and this is making an exceptional difference to children’s experiences. Family Court Advisers (FCAs) navigate this hugely complex, emotive and challenging area of work with great skill, respect and appropriate rigor.
- Family Court Advisers (FCAs) are attuned to the varied and nuanced risks children face as a result of adult-based issues such as parental conflict, domestic abuse and substances misuse. When undertaking safeguarding interviews with adults, FCAs are able to skilfully elicit key information and negotiate adults through ‘often intractable, highly sensitive situations’.
- Children’s Guardians sensitively help children to write to judges and to speak with them virtually or in person when they wish to do so. This powerfully brings children’s wishes to the heart of decision-making in the courts.
- Children’s Guardians focus on the safety and well-being of children to make ‘consistently meaningful, evidence-based and invaluable’ recommendations to the family court. This work has a tangible and positive impact on children’s lives.
- Children’s Guardians bring skill and expertise to their work with children during care proceedings, allowing them to quickly build trusting and meaningful relationships. Since the previous inspection, practice has continued to improve from an already strong base.
- Senior leaders are credible, visible and highly respected by the workforce due to their relentless child focus and straightforward approach. They inspire managers and staff to perform well. Strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders are extremely strong.
- Since the previous inspection, there is a palpable cultural change across the workforce via a new relationship-based model of practice. With a real focus on what matters most to children, the model has been embraced by an overwhelming majority of staff and it has been instrumental in promoting practice that is kind, sensitive and respectful, with children’s welfare and safety at the forefront of thinking.”
How can we help?
Rina Mistry is a Senior Associate in our Family Law team, advising on a wide range of family law work, and in particular specialising in private children’s law and children matters.
If you need further advice on the subjects discussed above, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your circumstances in more detail and give you more information about the services that our family law solicitors can provide along with details of our hourly rates and fixed fee services.
For more information or advice, please call Rina or another member of our team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or contact us via our online form.