Court proceedings

Beginning court proceedings

Court Proceedings happen when the Assessment Team or Family Support and Safeguarding Team (referred to as social work team in this guide) are very worried about how a child is being looked after, and do not feel there is anything more they can do to help the family keep the child safe. They may happen after assessments during Public Law Outline or if something happens that means the child isn’t safe in the immediate future. 

The social work team will have had legal advice from their own solicitor about applying to court.

They will write several documents explaining to the court what they are worried about and what they think needs to happen next. This might include a recommendation that the child (or children) needs to live somewhere else – for example with a relative, in foster care, or a residential home, during the court proceedings.

Parents can also have free legal advice and representation from a solicitor throughout the court proceedings, who will make sure they see and understand all the documents. Parents will have the chance to submit their own documents to court saying what they think should happen, with the help of their solicitor.

The first court hearing

At the first court hearing there should be the child’s social worker and/or representatives from the social work team and their solicitor, the children’s parents and their solicitors, and a Children’s Guardian from Cafcass and their solicitor. The Children’s Guardian is independent of the social work team and are appointed to tell the court what they think is best for the child or children. There will also be either a judge or magistrates, who make the decisions. 

The solicitors will talk to the judge or the magistrates. The solicitor for the social work team will explain what they are worried about and what they are suggesting should happen to keep the child or children safe. The parent's solicitor(s) will say whether they agree or don't agree, and what the parents think should happen.

The solicitor for the Children’s Guardian will share their opinion on everything they have read and heard. Sometimes people need to give evidence about what they have written in their documents.

The judge or magistrates will decide what needs to happen to keep the children safe. This might mean the children being moved to live somewhere else, or a clear plan of support and supervision whilst they stay in their parent's care. The judge or magistrates will set future dates when everyone returns to court to agree what assessments and work needs to be done before the court can make a final decision.

During court proceedings

There are lots of different things that can be done during the court proceedings to help everyone make a final decision about where the child or children should live until they are adults. This will include assessments of anyone who is wanting to care for the children — including parents and wider family members. This work is usually led by social workers in the Court Team, they are called 'Social Work Practice Consultants'. It might also include things like DNA testing, drug testing, and assessments by professionals like psychologists. This plan of work will be different for every family.

The law aims for all children's court proceedings to finish within 26 weeks (six months). This isn't always possible — for example, if there are lots of different assessments needing to happen, or lots of changes during the court proceedings.

Ending court proceedings

When these pieces of work are finished, the Social Work Practice Consultant will write a new set of documents explaining to the court what they think the plan for the child should be until they are an adult and why.

The parents and the Children's Guardian, with the help of their solicitors, will also write new documents explaining if they agree or not.

The judge or magistrates will read all of these documents, and at a final court hearing the solicitors will all explain what the people they represent think needs to happen. Sometimes these people will also give evidence in court and solicitors will ask them questions.

The judge or magistrates will think about all the evidence they have read and heard and use this to make their final decision.

There are lots of different court orders they could make, including a:

They will decide where a child should live, and who will be involved in making important decisions about them in the future. This is a final decision, and if anyone wants to change it in the future, they will need to start a new set of court proceedings.

Children will have a new social worker after this, as Social Work Practice Consultants in the Court Team only work with a family during court proceedings. Who the new social worker will be will depend on what decision has been made by the judge or magistrates.

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