A new toolkit has been published for Family judges to support them in writing to children involved in cases before them.
The guidance, published by The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, is a collaboration between the judiciary, children and young people and other professionals who work in and around the Family justice system.
The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory supported its development, sharing findings from research on children’s experiences of Family court proceedings. Nicky Tolley, Chair of The Intermediary Cooperative, and colleague Lucy Swindlehurst were also asked to be involved in the project.
In the foreword to the toolkit, Sir Andrew says:
“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.”
Sir Andrew adds: “My hope is that once judges have written to children in a few cases, doing so will rapidly become the norm and no longer a task to be avoided. The publication of this guidance has the potential to change the culture and to make the sending of a short letter from the judge the norm in all substantive cases.”
Nicky Tolley said: “it was a privilege to be asked to be part of the collaborative approach towards creating a detailed and informed resource which will, hopefully, assist judges in writing to children impacted by the cases before them.”