The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has published an updated toolkit for family judges to support them in writing to the children involved in cases before them.
The update comes a year after the first publication, following feedback from the judiciary, professionals, children and young people who work in and around the family justice system.
As the toolkit sets out, by writing to children, judges can help to ensure that children feel heard and understand what the family court has decided in relation to their family and why.
Writing to children is one important way of ensuring that children feel involved in family court proceedings – put simply it lets a child know the judge was thinking about them when they made their decision. A child’s right to participate in proceedings, and to have the final decision communicated to them in a way they can understand, is enshrined in international and domestic legislation and guidance. However, it does not routinely happen.
The guidance gives public and private family law judges an approach for writing to children created after input from children and young people, judges, researchers and academics, social workers, clinical psychologists, communication experts and others who work with children and the courts.
I often think about how different things could have been if I’d had a letter from the judge who made that custody decision when I was 8 years old. A letter that spelled out the truth: my dad hadn’t been forced to leave us. He had made that choice himself. If I’d had that letter, I would have known who to trust, who had really been protecting us all along. That letter would have given me certainty, a foundation to stand on when everything else felt shaky.Anne, a young woman from the Family Justice Young People’s Board, who helped develop the toolkit following her own experiences of proceedings
In his foreword, Sir Andrew said:
“The benefit of judges communicating with the child at the centre of proceedings has long been recognised, yet few of us have ever written to a child to explain our decision in their case. There is an understandable judicial reluctance in this regard partly because of the realisation that the letter will be important and there is a fear of saying the ‘wrong thing’. As is made plain throughout this guidance by direct quotation from children, a child is entitled to be given an accurate and informative account of what was decided, and why, from the judge who made the decision.
This will be important for the young person in understanding that their wishes and feelings have been taken into account by the court, and in supporting them to accept or make sense of the decision as they move forward with their life thereafter.”
I think it’s excellent and the feeling is shared by the judicial colleagues I’ve spoken with. I used it last week and it gave me the confidence to actually write a letter. I don’t think I would have without the guide. The children’s guardian was pleased with it and thought it would be very beneficial to the child concerned. The process of doing it also really focused my mind on the child and her being at the centre of my decision.A judge who has used the toolkit commented:
Evidence on children’s experiences makes the case for judges writing to children, showing that when children feel heard, understood and informed about court proceedings, it can help them feel better about the decisions being made. When it doesn’t happen, it can increase the distress, uncertainty and confusion children experience. Young people describe feeling like they are being ‘done to’ rather than ‘worked with’ and a letter at this juncture in their lives can help with their understanding and can support their sense of identity and belonging in later life.
The toolkit is hosted on judicary.uk and available to all.
Access and download the toolkit here
Read the press release from the President of the Family Division
