What Are Child-Focused Courts? A Plain-English Guide for Parents Representing Themselves
What Are Child-Focused Courts? A Plain-English Guide for Parents Representing Themselves
General information only. This is not legal advice. If you are involved in court proceedings, you should seek independent legal advice specific to your situation.
If you have an application in the family court, or you're thinking about making one, you may have heard that things are changing. Courts across England and Wales are moving away from the old system (often called CAP) towards a new model called the child-focused court, based on something called the Pathfinder pilot. Whether this applies to you right now depends on which court you're using, since the rollout is happening region by region.
Here's what it means in practice.
The old system versus the new one
Under CAP, cases have tended to be led by the parties. Each side puts its case forward, often across several hearings, and the process can feel adversarial.
The child-focused court takes a different approach. It's designed to be more investigative, with the court gathering information early and trying to make decisions faster, with fewer hearings. The aim is to put the child's safety and experience at the centre of the process, rather than the dispute between the adults.
Child-focused courts currently deal with child arrangement applications, section 8 applications, and enforcement applications. Other types of applications are still handled under the old system for now.
How a case actually moves through the new process
- Administrative check. The court checks your application has been completed properly.
- Gatekeeping 1. Within a few days, a judge or legal adviser looks at the application. You and the other party are not present at this stage. The court will usually direct that a child impact report be prepared.
- Child impact report. This is prepared by Cafcass, Cafcass Cymru, or social services, and usually takes around six to ten weeks depending on the court area. It covers similar ground to what used to be called a section 7 report, and involves safeguarding checks, gathering the child's views where possible, and input from domestic abuse services if relevant. This report carries a lot of weight, since it is often the main document the judge relies on.
- Gatekeeping 2. Again without the parties present, the court decides what happens next. That might mean a paper order if you've reached agreement, a referral to mediation, or the case moving onto a path where further evidence is filed.
- Decision hearing. This replaces what used to be called the FHDRA. It's judge-led, and the court can make final decisions at this hearing rather than listing several further hearings.
What this means for you as a litigant in person
Because so much happens before any hearing you actually attend, the biggest change is timing. You need to get your evidence and information in front of the court much earlier than you might expect.
Some practical points worth knowing:
- Put more detail into your initial application than you might have done before. Because gatekeeping hearings happen without you present, your C100 (and your C1A, if you're raising safety concerns) may be the only real chance to get information in front of the court before the child impact report is prepared.
- Gather your evidence early. Timelines, key dates, and any documents supporting your case should be ready before you're asked for them. If the court directs a statement, you may only be given seven days to file it.
- Know your seven-day window. If you disagree with something in a gatekeeping order, you generally have seven days to make an application (called a C2) to challenge it. Missing this window can be difficult to fix later.
- Flag safety needs clearly. If you are a victim of domestic abuse, make sure any special measures you need are set out clearly in your application, and keep reminding the court of this as the case progresses.
- If you disagree with something in the child impact report, you can raise this, but you need to explain to the court why it matters and why the person who wrote it needs to be questioned about it. General disagreement is unlikely to be enough on its own.
Is the new system better?
That depends who you ask, and it's still early days. Some family law practitioners feel the faster process reduces the stress and ongoing exposure of a drawn-out case, particularly for victims of domestic abuse. Others have raised concerns that the pace can leave less time to properly investigate serious allegations, especially coercive and controlling behaviour, which can be harder to evidence than physical abuse.
Guidance on how cases are being handled is still developing, and there are regional differences in how strictly the new approach is applied. If your case involves domestic abuse, safeguarding concerns, or other serious issues, it's worth getting advice on how to present your case within this new timeline, since the opportunities to be heard come earlier and more quickly than before.
If you'd like support preparing an application or understanding where your case sits in this process, Divorce Navigator can help you get organised.
You Don't Have to Face This Alone
Navigating a child arrangements case without a solicitor is difficult at the best of times, and a faster, front-loaded process makes preparation matter even more. Our sister site Bridge the Gap is here to help.
Find a Verified McKenzie Friend Near You. Browse our directory of verified McKenzie Friends who can sit with you in court, help you prepare documents, and support you through every stage of your case.
Bridge the Gaps: Common Family Court Misconceptions. Discover what other people actually found when they got to court, the assumptions that didn't hold, and the lessons that could make a difference to your case.
Share Your Experience. If your case has gone through a child-focused court, your experience could help someone else facing the same process.
Visit familycourtbridge.org to find support, read stories, and connect with someone who has been there.