If you are heading into child arrangements proceedings, the process you have read about may not be what you face. A reform called Child Focused Courts is being rolled out across England and Wales, and in the areas already running it, what happens after a parent applies looks quite different.
The law hasn’t changed. The way cases are run has.
On 17 March 2026 the government confirmed that the Child Focused Courts model will be rolled out across every family court in England and Wales over the next three years. Where the model is already running, there is no automatic first hearing for parents to attend. Cafcass, Cafcass Cymru, or the local authority gathers the information first and produces a Child Impact Report. A large proportion of cases then finish at a single Decision Hearing.
Bristol and the South West aren’t among the areas running it yet, and no start date has been published for the region. If you make an application to Bristol Family Court this autumn, your case will use the existing route.
What Child Focused Courts do differently
In most of England at the moment, you file a C100 form, Cafcass carries out safeguarding checks and sends a safeguarding letter to the court, and the case is listed for a First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA). If nothing is agreed there, the court will often direct a Section 7 report and list the case again. We have broken that down more thoroughly in our guide to what to expect from child arrangements court proceedings.
The Child Focused Courts model changes that process to prioritise children more thoroughly. Once an application is issued, Cafcass reviews what is already known about the family, carries out the safeguarding checks, and arranges a call with a Family Court Adviser to understand the situation and how it is affecting the child. Where it is appropriate to do so, the Family Court Adviser will also speak to the child directly.
The Family Court Adviser then writes a Child Impact Report for the court. It sets out how the dispute is affecting your child, any safeguarding concerns, and what Cafcass recommends should happen next. That might be a referral to mediation, or a listing for a Decision Hearing. The judge reads it before you attend before you attend a hearing.
If you live in one of the areas already running the model, this is the Cafcass report you will receive, and there is no FHDRA. Where the report and the parents’ positions allow it, the case can be decided at that single hearing. Where they don’t, the court gives further directions in the usual way.
The model began as the Pathfinder pilot in North Wales and Dorset in February 2022. It runs under Practice Direction 36Z of the Family Procedure Rules, a pilot rule in place until 31 March 2027.
Which court areas are running Child Focused Courts now?
Ten of the 43 family court areas in England and Wales use the model: all of Wales, Birmingham and Solihull, Wolverhampton, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Dorset. Eight more are due to launch during 2026 to 2027: Northumbria and North Durham, Cleveland and South Durham, Lancashire, Cumbria, York and North Yorkshire, Cheshire and Merseyside, Northamptonshire, and Coventry and Warwickshire.
Bristol, Somerset and Gloucestershire don’t have a timeline yet. If you apply to Bristol Family Court now, you will need to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) first unless an exemption applies. Cafcass will send its safeguarding letter to the court, and your case will be listed for a First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment. If you and the other parent cannot agree at that hearing, the court may direct a Section 7 report and list the case again.
What the pilot showed
Cases in the pilot areas were resolved up to 7.5 months faster than under the standard process, and the backlog in those courts halved. The government’s evaluation sets out the detail. £17 million has been committed for 2026 to 2027 to fund the expansion, including permanent social work posts at Cafcass.
Faster does not mean less thorough. Most of the work happens before the first hearing, in the Cafcass assessment, whilst courtroom time is limited. What the court reads and understands will be heavily based on what you tell the Family Court Adviser in that early call: how clearly you describe your child’s routine, their needs, and any concerns you have.
If you are considering an application for a Child Arrangements Order and are not sure whether court is the right route, we are here to help you work out your options and come to a decision. Get in touch and we can talk it through.
This is a change to process, not to the law
The Courts and Tribunals Bill 2026, which proposes to remove the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989, is a separate reform. It is still going through parliament and has not received Royal Assent. Child Focused Courts change how a case is managed. The Bill would change the test the court applies. We covered it in how child contact might change under the Courts and Tribunals Bill.
Potential issues with Child Focused Courts
Resolution, a community of family justice professionals committed to resolving disputes constructively and with as little conflict as possible, supports the reform, but has set out its concerns about the national rollout.
The first concern is resourcing. The Pathfinder pilot areas had additional Cafcass, local authority and specialist Domestic Abuse capacity behind them, but it is unclear whether that will follow the model into all 43 court areas.
Resolution has also reported cases being closed early where parents wanted to try mediation after applying, with some judges reluctant to adjourn for it. It argues that a process designed to resolve disputes faster shouldn’t draw families into proceedings who would have done better without them.
Its final point is representation. In nearly half of private law children cases neither parent has a solicitor, and both parents are represented in only 13%, according to the latest family court statistics. It is uncertain how well a front-loaded process serves parents who don’t have the legal knowledge to understand what Cafcass is and the court will be looking for from them.
How the rollout responds to those points will become clearer as more areas implement the model.
If you are separating in the Bristol, Clevedon or Portishead area
Your application will follow the existing route for now. What isn’t changing is what the court looks at: the safeguarding checks, your account of your child’s day-to-day life and needs, and any evidence of risk. Setting that out clearly and early will always be the most helpful thing you can do for your case.
As members of Resolution ourselves, we prefer to avoid court if possible, and try to help parents reach an agreement through mediation, negotiation or collaborative practice that can then be made into a Consent Order. Where court is necessary, our children issues solicitors will tell you so.
Common questions
When does Cafcass get involved in child arrangements?
Once an application has been issued. In every court area, Cafcass carries out safeguarding checks with the police and local authority and contacts both parents before the first hearing. Under the Child Focused Courts model, that will be a more in-depth conversation with a Family Court Adviser and, where appropriate, a conversation with your child.
What age can Cafcass interview a child?
There is no set age. The Family Court Adviser decides based on your child’s understanding, and on what the case involves. Younger children are usually (but not always) considered through their parents, their school and other agencies. Where a child is spoken to, their wishes and feelings go into the report. They are given weight but aren’t the sole or deciding factor.
Does the Child Impact Report replace the Section 7 report?
Yes. A Child Impact Report is legally a Section 7 report in its own right and serves the same function that a Cafcass safeguarding letter and current Section 7 report would otherwise do. If the judge wants more information on a particular point, they can direct further work to be added to the Child Impact Report. For Bristol and other areas not yet using the model, the court continues to direct Cafcass Section 7 reports in the usual way.
Can we still use mediation after an application has been made?
Yes, and the Child Impact Report may even recommend it. An application doesn’t close off the possibility of agreement outside of court. Parents can reach arrangements at every stage of proceedings, and an existing order can be varied later if circumstances change.
How often do the courts go with Cafcass recommendations?
No official figure is published. An older study commissioned by Cafcass, reported in the Law Gazette, looked at 170 private law cases and found the Family Court Adviser’s recommendation was accepted in just over 75% of them, rising to around 90% once cases listed for a further review were included. The general view among family lawyers is that a judge will usually follow the recommendation, but this is never a guarantee, and the final decision rests with the judge. However, if they depart from a report, they must have evidence and reasoning for doing so.
If you disagree with what Cafcass has recommended, tell your solicitor before the hearing so it can be raised properly.
Speak to a child arrangements solicitor
At your initial consultation, we’ll sit down over a hot drink and listen to your situation and what you are hoping to achieve. We’ll tell you where you stand and which options are open to you, from mediation and collaborative practice through to a court application, and what we think is likely to work given what you’ve told us. We cover fees early on, so there are never any nasty surprises.
All of our solicitors are members of Resolution, so our starting point is reducing conflict between you and the other parent and reaching something that works for your child. Court is our last resort, and we will be honest with you about when it is necessary.
You don’t need to have decided anything yet, and you don’t need to have spoken to the other parent first. You just need to get in touch.
Your initial consultation runs for up to 90 minutes, for a discounted 60-minute flat rate. Book your initial consultation, or call your nearest office:
- Clifton: 0117 375 1780
- Portishead: 01275 285 414
- Clevedon: 01275 741 202