If you are married and then go through a divorce, both of you will continue to have parental responsibility for your children and the Court will leave it up to you to decide the best arrangements for residence and contact. It is only if you cannot agree that it may become necessary to apply for a Residence or Contact order.
Under the Children Act 1989, you can apply for a number of different types of order:
Where parents are not married, only the mother has parental responsibility, but the father can also acquire this if the parents enter into a a parental responsibility agreement or if the father obtains a parental responsibility order from the Courts. This will not give the father any right to interfere in the day to day arrangements for the care of the child, but he can expect to be involved in major decision making such as which school the child will attend. He will also be treated as one of the child's legal parents, so that he can for example obtain copies of school reports direct from the school.
While parents have an absolute right to ask the Court to make a residence or contact order, others may only apply with leave of the Court. Grandparents may wish to keep in contact with their grandchildren, or if the circumstances warrant it, may even want to apply to have the children come and live with them. The same may apply to other family members such as uncles and aunts, step-parents, older brothers and sisters etc. In appropriate circumstances such applications can be made but it will be necessary to obtain "leave" or permission from the Court first before the matter can go ahead.
If you are a child and things are going wrong in your family, it is very important to remember it is not your fault. There are a number of web-sites which may help you to understand what is going on. The National Children's Home have a site with sections for children and young people of different ages and a section for parents. The address is www.itsnotyourfault.org.uk. Carelaw is a site for children and young people in care which is packed with information. The address is www.carelaw.org.uk
You might want to contact Childline. The Childline number is 0800 1111 and they provide a helpline for children and young people up to age 18 in danger, distress or with any problem. The NSPCC run a Child Protection Helpline for children and young people or anyone concerned about a child or young person at risk of abuse. Their number is 0800 800 500
Children who are old enough to understand legal proceedings and who are able to instruct solicitors for themselves can make their own applications under the Children Act. Although this is possible, it is still quite unusual. Also the proceedings will usually have to be dealt with in the High Court rather than the County Court. If you are a teenager who is not sure of your legal rights, there is no reason why you should not make an appointment to see a solicitor. If you are still at school or in full-time education, you will be eligible for Legal Help and the advice will be free of charge.
Stevens have a number of solicitors who are on the Child Care Panel and who are used to representing children. Instructions are usually received through a Children's Guardian who is appointed by the Court. If the child and the Guardian do not agree and, if the child is old enough to give sensible instructions, the solicitor may decide to take instructions from the child direct.
Individual Local Authorities have a duty to investigate concerns raised about the
welfare of children living within their area. Often, if concerns are raised about a child, an initial
Child Protection Conference will be arranged.
The people who are invited to attend Child Protection Conferences will be from a
number of different agencies involved with the child or children concerned, for example schools, health
visiting services and the police.
Parents will be invited to the conference and will have the opportunity to make their
views known. Parents attending Child Protection Conferences are entitled to be accompanied by a Solicitor.
At the end of an initial Child Protection Conference a decision will be taken about
whether a child’s name should be added to the “at risk register” and, if so, under what category or
categories. The categories are: The definition of each category is very broad.
If a child’s name is added to the “Child Protection Register” then Social Services
will continue to remain involved with the family. Normally a plan to work with the family to address
issues of concern will be agreed at the Child Protection Conference.
Following an initial Child Protection Conference, if the child or children’s names
are added to the “Child Protection Register” there will be a further conference which will probably take
place 3 months after the first conference. Conferences will then usually continue to take place at 6
monthly intervals until the point where either the child or children’s names are removed from the register
further action is taken by Social Services.
It is not possible for the Local Authority to remove a child from its parents care
without the agreement of the parents or an application to Court.
If the Local Authority have significant concerns that a child is at immediate risk of
serious harm they may well apply for an Emergency Protection Order with or without the parents present in
Court. If granted then the Local Authority can remove the child.
Alternatively if the concerns are less significant and present less of an emergency the
Local Authority may apply for an interim (temporary) Care Order. If granted this would mean that the
Local Authority would share parental responsibility for the child and would allow the Local Authority to
remove the child into foster care.
Sometimes however the Local Authority will apply for an interim Care Order but plan
to leave the child living at home during a period of assessment.
If a child is removed from its parents care this does not mean that the child’s future
is settled at that point. If the Local Authority have made an application for an interim Care Order then
they will also be applying for a full (final) Care Order. There will be a final hearing about this and
it is common for a final hearing to take place a year or more after the proceedings began.
In the period leading up to the final hearing there will be assessments carried out to
see if there is any possibility that the child can be returned to either its parents or another family
member. The type of assessment varies and will often include psychiatric and psychological assessments.
Public funding is always available for cases where the Local Authority are taking
proceedings regarding a child. This means that parents who find themselves in this situation will always
be entitled to instruct a Solicitor and will not have to pay for that advice, regardless of how much they
earn. At this point it is vitally important that the solicitor instructed is on the Law Society's
Children Panel so as to ensure the solicitor is experienced and qualified to deal with this type of case
involving children.
These type of proceedings can often seem very daunting not only because of the
important and sensitive issues they address but also because of the large number of people involved.
At Court there will usually be a Local Authority Solicitor who will be accompanied by a Social Worker and
the Social Work Manager. A Children’s Guardian will be appointed to represent the best interests of the
child. The Children’s Guardian will appoint his or her own Solicitor to deal with legal issues. The
parents of the child will be legally represented either by the same Solicitor or by separate Solicitors.
Expert witnesses may be called on such as doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists. The number of people
involved can seem very off putting but where the future of a child is at issue it is important for the
Court to have as much information as possible.
The firm accepts instructions to act for all parties in matters relating to children. Parents are
welcome to make contact with us by telephone, in person or by email or letter. We frequently
represent children and we are happy to accept instructions from Guardians throughout East Anglia,
including Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. We also accept agency instructions from
Social Services.
Rebecca Dedman is a solicitor on the Law Society Children Panel.
Stephanie Halford is a solicitor on the Law Society Children Panel.
Jane Probyn is the departmental secretary/assistant.
Our lawyers can visit clients at home and will always deal with issues
sensitively and in a non-judgemental way.
If you have any queries or would like advice about a child care related matter you are welcome
to contact us.
What happens when a child is placed on the "Child Protection Register"?
What happens when children are taken into care?
Stevens Child Care Department