Children's Guardians - What Are They For?

Many families with problems become involved with Social Services but this does not always mean court proceedings. Social workers make enormous efforts to avoid involving children and their parents in the courts, by offering help, advice and practical support.

However when there are unresolved problems, the local authority holds a child protection meeting with other professionals, such as teachers or doctors, connected with the case. The meeting recommends the best way to protect the child. If the situation is serious enough then the recommendation will be for court proceedings to begin . The local authority can apply for a care order, a supervision order or, if the situation is urgent, an emergency protection order. Whatever court action is initiated a Children’s Guardian will be appointed to represent the interests of the child.

Children’s Guardians have formal social work qualifications and significant experience in working with children and families. They are officers of CAFCASS, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Their role is to protect the interests of children in court, They read Social Services’s files and assess the application made by the local authority.

They will instruct a solicitor to represent the child, as the child is always a party to the proceedings separate to the local authority and to his or her parents. Working with the solicitor they ensure the child’s interests are properly protected, attending review meetings, meeting the parents and the extended family and any other professionals involved with the child. The child’s welfare is always the paramount concern for the court, and everyone else involved in the case.

The Children’s Guardian acts as the voice for the child in proceedings. Sometimes a child is old enough and has sufficient understanding to be able to instruct a solicitor themselves. If that is the case and they do not agree with the Children’s Guardian, the Children’s Guardian will instruct another solicitor of their own rather than rely on the solicitor representing the child.

Guardians help decide what expert evidence, if any, is necessary in the case, but normally the solicitor acting for the child, on the Guardian’s instructions, instructs any expert on behalf of all of the parties. After all the evidence and statements by everyone in the case have been prepared the Children’s Guardian prepares a report to help the court make its decision. Everyone sees the report before the final hearing and it will help them decide on the way forward.

Issues sometimes crop up in the course of proceedings, such as arrangements over contact, which mean an interim hearing to deal with them. The Children’s Guardian is often asked to provide an interim report dealing with these particular problems.

The court is not bound to follow the recommendation of the Children’s Guardian. A parent who is unhappy about the recommendation is entitled to challenge it and to ask the Guardian questions through their representative in court. However if the Guardian’s recommendation is not followed the court has to explain why.

Any party who is unhappy with the outcome of the case can consider an appeal, and this applies equally to the Children’s Guardian if he believes the court’s decision is not in the child’s interest. This is a decision which is never taken lightly and there needs to be a good reason to believe that the court made a wrong decision.

Sometimes individuals bring cases about children which do not involve the local authority at all, but where the issues are so complicated or important that the court considers the child should be a party to the case and have separate representation. Once it has decided there is no alternative course of action that protects the child, the court can appoint a Children’s Guardian who will appoint a solicitor for the child. .

In any case about a child all the parties will say what they think the court should do. The Children’s Guardian and the child’s solicitor are vital to ensure that interests of the most vulnerable of all the parties, the child, are safeguarded.

By John Brimble, Childcare and Family specialist at Foot Anstey. John can be contacted on 01823 362726 or email: john.brimble@foot-ansteys.co.uk

Published 12/03/2007.