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Children’s Family Time in Public Law Proceedings
The arrangements for each individual child must be based upon their own unique
needs, circumstances, wishes and feelings. Making good decisions about children’s
arrangements requires finding out about the child to fully understand them, good
planning, robust support, and frequent review. It is crucial that as Guardians we
challenge assumptions about what is “a normal level of contact” and any ‘one size fits
all approaches’. Each individual child’s arrangements must reflect their unique needs.
Learning from the experts – what do young people say?
Four members of the Family Justice Young People’s Board (FJYPB) spoke to us
about their experiences of public law proceedings and the arrangements that were
made for them to see their families. Here are some of the things that they told us:
Cinema?
See friends?
“When you have siblings, what is
good for them may not be good
for you. They [social workers] try
and group you all together"
"For the 6 weeks summer holiday, every day I went to visit my mum. I was like what?, when can I
hang out with my friends? No one even asked me how I felt about it or told me what was
happening. Even if I didn’t agree, if someone had explained, it would have made a massive
difference. I feel like everyone was pushing me to see my parents and I felt obliged to".
"They [professionals] were telling me it was my
decision and it left me in a vulnerable position
Travel to
as mum knew it was my decision and
contact?
manipulated me".
“I didn’t want to see her [mum]. It caused a lot
of extra stress and no one listened. I had a
foster carer who listened to me and she couldn’t
stop the contact, but knowing she was listening
made a difference”.
Meet the
Social
"I worried about upsetting my parents and it
Worker?
became a necessity to go and see them. They
Talk to the
would try and contact me through friends. You
Guardian?
feel like you just have to say what you should”
Knowledge Bite - Children’s Family Time in Public Law Proceedings
When asked for ideas about what could have been done differently by their
Guardians and any top tips for new Guardians, the young people made these
valuable suggestions:
"LISTEN - take action through the listening"
"Remember that one child is an individual. They are different to the last child you worked with and
different to their brothers and sisters".
"My guardian used to take me to cafes and eventually I started letting my guard down. It wasn’t at
home and it was an outside environment which helped a lot"
"Don’t make assumptions based on contact observations. Look what happens after the contact. If
a child is self-harming or suicidal, take action”.
"They took me on a tour of court, and it was like a piece of the puzzle as I could picture where it
was all happening"
"Meeting the judge was good"
"Having a foster carer who listened and watched to understand me. Having someone who
understood helped"
"One social worker arranged to call me after contact to find out how it had gone which was good"
"They just think it's just an hour of your life, but the impact is bigger"
Here are links to 3 videos of children talking about their
experiences of family time after adoption.
Voice of the child | Contact after adoption (rip.org.uk) – there are 3
videos of children talking about their experiences
Knowledge Bite - Children’s Family Time in Public Law Proceedings
What does the research tell us?
The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (2020) identified 6 key messages from
research which professionals should consider when involved in decision making
about arrangements for children in care, or those who have been adopted, to spend
time with their families.
•
Ask yourself, what would indicate that the plan for contact is likely to lead to
Focus on the quality of
good quality contact?
contact
•
What needs to change to lead to good quality contact?
•
Ask yourself, how have children been involved in discussions about their
Listen to the views of
arrangements?
•
With babies and very young children, is there evidence that their long-term
children and young people
needs for family connections have been properly considered?
Recognise the significance •
What needs to change to ensure that children are able to keep in touch with
of brothers/sisters,
people they have formed relationships with?
•
What will help ensure that all potential family and wider family connections are
grandparents, wider family identified?
and friends
•
How can you ensure that the quality of contact immediately after the removal
Ensure that all involved are of a child, and before plans are settled, can be of the highest quality?
clear about the purpose of •
Can everyone involved say what the purpose of contact is for this particular
contact
child with this particular relative or friend?
•
What systems support dynamic and flexible contact arrangements?
Ensure that contact plans
•
How can you avoid a formulaic approach to contact plans?
are tailored to each child
•
What systems would support better opportunities for review and changes to
and reviewed regularly
arrangements?
•
What support is being provided for children in relation to contact?
•
What support is being provided for parents to manage contact? Are they being
Ensure skilled professional
given suggestions and advice about interactions with their children, particularly
support is available
babies?
•
What support are carers getting in managing contact?
The full report can be accesse
d here
Knowledge Bite - Children’s Family Time in Public Law Proceedings
Reviewing Children’s Family Time – does it still meet this
individual child’s needs?
Elsbeth Neil’s model reminds us that making decisions about children’s
arrangements is a dynamic process, rather than a one-off event. In other
words, professionals need to regularly review whether the arrangements are
meeting each individual child’s needs, how children are feeling about their
arrangements, and the impact that it is having upon them.
Elsbeth Neil (Research in Practice/UEA) (2015)
This five step approach encourages professionals to consider:
•
What is the purpose of contact?
•
What are the risks and strengths to each individual child?
•
What is the plan?
•
What support is being offered to the child/family/carers to make this the best
possible experience for each child?
•
What plans are in place to regularly review each child’s arrangements? (this
should include listening to the child’s views)
•
For further details the full report can be accessed using this link - Contact: Making
Good Decisions for Child in Public Law
Final thought – think about your final letter to the IRO. Is there
anything further that you need to share?
Knowledge Bite - Children’s Family Time in Public Law Proceedings
Case study for team discussions
Ayesha is 3 months old. She was placed in foster care at 2 months old due to on-
going concerns surrounding neglectful parenting, which included alcohol use by her
mother, Miss Abidi. An interim care order has been granted and Ayesha currently
sees her mother 3 times a week at a contact centre. Ayesha has never met her father
and his whereabouts are unknown at this stage. You have been appointed as the
Guardian for Ayesha. The Local Authority are undertaking a parenting assessment of
Miss Abidi and alcohol testing.
Q. In relation to the plans for Ayesha to spend time with her mother, what are
some of the things you would need to consider at the outset of your
involvement? What information do you need? What would you need to do if
you didn’t agree with the Local Authority’s proposals?
You are advised Ayesha has a half-sister, Aleena, who is 11 years old and lives with
her father. She sees her mother regularly and the time they spend together is
supported by Aleena’s aunty in the community. Prior to Ayesha being placed in foster
care, Aleena had met her sister several times. Miss Abidi says that Aleena wants to
see Ayesha.
Q. What do you think your role is in relation to Ayesha and Aleena spending
time together? What would you do in response to this?
The parenting assessment of Miss Abidi is positive and the alcohol testing shows a
reduction in her alcohol use over recent weeks. The Local Authority want to increase
the arrangements for Ayesha to spend time with her mother.
Knowledge Bite - Children’s Family Time in Public Law Proceedings
Case study for team discussions cont…..
Q. What would you need to think about when considering the proposals of the
Local Authority?
During the proceedings, Ayesha’s father is located by the Local Authority and
expresses a wish to spend time with his daughter. Although still living with foster
carers, Ayesha is now being cared for by her mother four days a week in the
community for several hours. She is also seeing Aleena once a month.
Q. What are some of things you need to consider in relation to Ayesha being
introduced to her father and how this can be managed alongside the ongoing
assessment of her mother?
The final plan proposed by the Local Authority is one of reunification to her mother’s
care.
Q. When considering the Local Authority’s final care plan, what would you
need to think about in respect of the arrangements for her to spend time with
her father and her sister, and any other family members?
•
Assess each child as an individual; don’t assume that the best plan for one child
is the right plan for his/her brothers and sisters
•
Listen to what the child wants and what their family time means to them; make
sure that they feel heard
•
Focus on the purpose and quality of family time for every individual child
•
Consider mechanisms to review the child’s family time; arrangements need to be
dynamic and evolve as the child’s needs change
•
Consider what support is being offered to the child, the family, and the carers to
manage family time and ensure that it is of the best quality for each individual
child
•
Carefully consider children’s relationships with their brothers and sisters; don’t
underestimate the value of these important relationships
•
Family time needs to be considered as a priority in care planning and when
balancing the benefits to the child of adoption vs long term foster care
•
Put yourself in the child’s shoes and think about how the plans feel for them
•
There is no ‘one size fits all’; plans must be based on the analysis of each
individual child’s needs
Research in Practice have developed a Contact Planning Tool to
assist practitioners in making good decisions about contact for
children in public law proceedings.
Further research and resources
Cafcass – ‘Top tips for keeping children informed and
keeping them at the centre of their case’ and ‘Top tips for
professionals when working with brothers and sisters’ can
be accessed
here
Iyer, P., Albakri, M., Burridge, H., Mayer, M., and Gill, V.
(2020). The effects of digital contact on children’s
wellbeing: evidence from public and private law contexts.
Iyer, P., Boddy, J., Hammelsbeck, R., and Lynch-Huggins,
S. (2020). Contact following placement in care, adoption,
or special guardianship: implications for children and
young people’s wellbeing
Neil, E., Copson, R., and Sorensen, P. (2020). Contact
during lockdown: How are children and their birth families
keeping in touch
