Graphic version of this page

Child protection

If a local authority considers that a child needs protection from significant harm it can start care proceedings in a family court and apply for orders to safeguard the child.

The court can only make order where this will make a positive contribution to the child's welfare.

Care proceedings

The local authority makes its application to the court and sends the application to the parents. The local authority may ask the court to consider making an interim care order or an interim supervision order at the first hearing. The court appoints a children's guardian from CAFCASS to represent the child. The children's guardian appoints a solicitor for the child. The parents should find a family law solicitor who is a specialist in child care law as soon as possible so that they can be represented at the first hearing. Legal representation is available under the Legal aid scheme without charge for parents.

Care proceedings generally last at least 9 months. There is a substantial guidance document for the courts, lawyers, expert witnesses and other professionals involved in the proceedings explaining the steps they must take to ensure that cases are completed without delay. View the Public law Protocol document. Under the protocol cases should normally be completed within 40 weeks.

The key stages in care proceedings are the First Hearing, Pre Hearing Review and the Final Hearing.

At the First Hearing (also known as the First Directions Appointment) the court considers any applications for interim orders (that is temporary orders) and makes directions for the handling of the case, for example:

  • Direct that the case should be transferred from the Family Proceedings Court to the County Court
  • Direct that the local authority should undertake assessments and file evidence
  • Appoint experts to provide assessments or other evidence
  • Set the timetable for the case and fix future hearings.

At the Pre Hearing Review the court clarifies what issues are in dispute and makes sure that the case can be decided at the Final Hearing. In many cases the parents accept that their child has been harmed or is at risk.

At the Final Hearing the court considers the matters still in dispute. Where the parents do not accept that the child has been harmed the local authority has to prove this before the court can consider what orders should be made for the child's future care. In complex, disputed cases, this may involve a separate hearing about what has happened to the child. Once the court is satisfied that the child has been harmed or is at risk of harm, it considers evidence about the child's needs and about how these can be met. In particular, it considers proposals from the child's family about arrangements for his or her care, the local authority's plan for the child and the report of the children's guardian. At this stage the child's welfare determines the orders (if any) the court makes.