The Court has ordered Cafcass prepare a Section 7 Report
What Is This?
In children cases the Court may make an order that a Section 7 Report be prepared by Cafcass. Cafcass stands for Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. A Section 7 Report is a report about a child’s welfare which helps the Judge to decide.
The Cafcass Officer is a Social Worker and is independent of the Court. They must remain objective and his/her priority is the child’s welfare. The Cafcass Officer will gather information and analyse it and then give some recommendations. They will interview the parents and the child, if appropriate. The Cafcass Officer may also make enquiries of a child’s nursery or school and health care professionals or social workers, if they have been involved with the family. If the Cafcass Officer speaks to a child he/she will be trying to ascertain his/her wishes and feelings.
The Judge will be making their decision based on the recommendations of the Cafcass Officer. The Cafcass Report carries a great deal of weight. Therefore, any conversations with the Cafcass Officer are very important.
Some of the matters the Cafcass Officer will be looking at are the following:
- The child’s needs.
- The child’s development.
- The parents’ support network.
- Extended family.
- Childcare support.
- Accommodation.
- Schooling.
- Health.
- Future plans.
- Any concerns.
- Risk of harm.
- Likely effect on the child/children of proposed childcare arrangements.
These are just examples of what the Cafcass Officer will be looking at.
Get in touch
It is always important to seek advice from an experienced family law specialist to discuss your circumstances and consider the different options available to you.
If you wish to speak to any of the family law team about cafcass, or anything else, then please get in touch. Either call us on 01323 727321 to arrange a telephone or video appointment or please fill in the form below and someone will get in touch.
Please note the above is for information purposes only and is intended to be a short summary. It should not be treated as a comprehensive guide and should not be acted on without qualified legal advice.