Family Department Fact Sheet
Child Arrangements Order
This document provides general guidance regarding applications for child arrangements orders. Your family lawyer will be able to provide specific advice based on your circumstances.
When parents decide to separate, one of their biggest worries is likely to be the arrangements for their children: where they will live, how they will have a relationship with the other parent and what financial provision is required.
This area is emotionally difficult and sensitive. It is usually considered in the early stages of what can be an acrimonious and difficult relationship breakdown. What needs to be remembered is that whilst the relationship between them has broken down, both parties continue to be parents, and that will continue until the children reach adulthood. Therefore, any discussions and decisions about the arrangements for children need to be made with the children’s best interests at the forefront of all parties’ minds and with the children’s welfare being placed paramount. The best way to do this is by cooperating and negotiating what arrangements will work for your family, as every family is different. Agreements reached by parents, with the assistance of specialist family lawyers and / or mediation services, are more likely to work in the long term better than orders imposed.
If an agreement can’t be reached, then either parent can ask the Court to decide the arrangements for their children. ‘Custody’ and ‘Access’ Orders are no longer made. Instead, there are a number of orders that the Court can make setting out the arrangements for children. In deciding whether to make orders for children, the Court will consult a list of factors, including the wishes and feelings of the child (dependent upon their age and understanding); the child’s age, sex, background, their physical, emotional, and educational needs; and the ability of those concerned to meet the child’s needs. The Court will also consider the impact any change in circumstances will have upon the child.
Court proceedings concerning child arrangements can be expensive and lengthy. They can also result in orders being imposed that neither parent is happy with. Court proceedings should always be the last resort after all attempts to negotiate and agree on the arrangements have been exhausted.
We charge fixed fees for our legal services in respect of child arrangements which are set out on the Fixed Fee Information Sheet Child Arrangements.
Anyone who is concerned about a child can apply to Court for an order. The Court can make one of a range of practical orders which should be able to deal with any question about the child. The Court will decide what is best for the child and will make an order only if it is needed.
The Court applies a checklist to help it decide what is best for a child. This includes the child’s wishes and feelings in the light of his or her age and understanding, the child’s age, sex and background, the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs, the ability of those concerned to meet those needs, the likely effect of any change in circumstances.
The Court will usually be given information and an opinion on what is best for a child by a specialist from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) who will research the situation, speak with both parents, and prepare a written report with recommendations for the Court.
In proceedings concerning children the Court will set timetables to avoid unnecessary delays and are expected to deal with cases more quickly.
A child arrangements order (CAO) is an order that regulates arrangements for a child that relate to any of the following:
- with whom the child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact
- when the child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact with any person
Contact simply means the time that a child spends with an adult. There are several ways that contact may take place:
- direct contact between the child and the person named in the order
- overnight staying contact
- supervised contact, and
- indirect contact through letters or cards
In rare circumstances, where the best interests of the child dictate, the court can order that there be no contact.
A CAO may specify the person with whom a child is to live, but not specifically where the child will live.
A CAO may provide for the child to live with one parent only, or it may provide for the child to share their time between both parents.
An order that provides for a child to spend time with both parents does not necessarily mean the child’s time will be spent equally between their parents. It is more a reflection of the parents’ equal status in the eyes of the court. The child may still spend more time at one home than at the other, and the child arrangements order will usually say in detail how the child’s time is to be divided.
Certain people are automatically entitled to apply for a CAO:
- any parent, guardian, or special guardian of the child
- a step-parent who has parental responsibility for the child by virtue of an order or agreement
- any person in whose favour a residence order is in force in respect of the child
- any party to a marriage or civil partnership (whether or not subsisting) in relation to whom the child is a child of the family
- any person with whom the child has lived for a period of at least three years (this period need not be continuous but must not have begun more than five years before, or ended more than three months before the making of the application)
- a person who is not the parent or guardian of the child but is named in a CAO as a person with whom the child is to spend time or otherwise have contact, and the court, has provided in the CAO for the person to have parental responsibility for the child
- any person having the consent: of each of the persons named in a CAO as a person with whom the child is to live, of the local authority, if the child is in local authority care, or, in any other case, each of those who have parental responsibility for the child
- a local authority foster parent is entitled to apply for a CAO regulating with whom and/or when a child is to live with a person if the child has lived with them for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the application; and
- a relative of a child is entitled to apply for a CAO regulating with whom and/or when a child is to live with a person if the child has lived with the relative for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the application
There are additional provisions that relate to who may apply to vary or discharge a CAO, and your family lawyer will discuss with you whether your circumstances meet that criteria.
Anyone else who is not automatically eligible may apply for a CAO if they first obtain permission of the court.
A CAO that regulates with whom the child is to live and when will last until the child is 18 (unless the court orders an earlier date). A CAO that regulates when the child is to have contact with a person will usually end when the child is 16 but, in limited circumstances, can last until the child is 18.
The family court in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are participating in a new pilot scheme in relation to proceedings concerning the arrangements for children. This scheme is called ‘Pathfinder’, and the procedure set out below assumes that your case will be part of the Pathfinder pilot. Applications made before 11.11.2025 will, however, be dealt with under a different procedure. Cases in other parts of the country may also be dealt with under the new Pathfinder procedure or may still be dealt with under the “old” procedure. This is dependent on where the case is proceeding and whether that court is part of the Pathfinder pilot.
The following procedure applies to cases under Pathfinder.
Stage 1 – Negotiation and Mediation
It is necessary to try and agree on the arrangements for children in the first instance, as the Court will only make orders if it is absolutely necessary to do so, i.e., when it is not possible for parents to agree.
The first stage is to talk about the issues and try to reach an agreement that suits all parties and benefits the children. This can be done by instructing a solicitor to help you, as they will correspond with the other parent, or their solicitor, and can do so without the emotions that a parent would. If an agreement is reached, this can be drafted into an agreement that is agreed upon by all parties and sets out what the arrangements are for the children.
A referral will need to be made to mediation if negotiation does not result in agreement. The mediation service will arrange separate initial meetings for both parties to attend called Mediation Information and Assessment meetings (MIAM). After this meeting the mediation service will determine whether the issues are suitable for mediation and, if so, arrange a mediation meeting. This can be a joint meeting between both parties, with a mediator present, or shuttled mediation, where both parties remain in separate rooms with the mediator going between the two. The mediator will encourage negotiation and suggest ways to resolve the issues. If an agreement can be reached, the mediator will then draw up a memorandum of understanding which both parties will be asked to agree and sign. This can then be given to a solicitor who will draw this into a child arrangements agreement. There are some circumstances where mediation will be deemed unsuitable. In these circumstances the mediation service will provide a MIAM certificate confirming this.
If agreement cannot be reached following negotiation and mediation, then either party may ask the court to decide the arrangements for the children.
Stage 2 – Application to Court
An application form is completed and sent to Court with the MIAM certificate and Court fee (unless claiming exemption). The Court will process the application and confirm a date when a Judge will consider the issues at a First Directions Appointment (FDA).
The application is checked by the court, and a request is made to the local authority for details of any involvement they may have had with the family in the last 12 weeks.
Gatekeeping 1 – The court legal advisor will direct either the local authority (if they have been involved in the last 12 weeks) or Cafcass to file a child impact report (CIR) within 10 weeks. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) assist the court by preparing CIRs. They are regarded as the court’s independent expert and the court’s eyes and ears.
The court’s case progression officer will make contact with the parties and will track the completion of the CIR.
Gatekeeping 2 – Once completed, the judge or legal advisor will consider the CIR. The court may make a final order at that stage or list the matter for a decision hearing within 2 weeks.
Decision hearing – the case will be listed for 1 to 1.5 hours, and the parties are required to attend this hearing. The aim of the hearing is to resolve the application.
Final hearing – if the case cannot be resolved at the decision hearing, the case may be listed for a final contested hearing.
In some circumstances, it is necessary for the Court to make emergency orders, e.g., to prevent a child from being taken out of the country, being removed from school, or for the return of a child from one parent to the other. These emergency orders may be made without the other party being notified in advance if the court considers this necessary. An interim emergency order would be made to protect the immediate welfare of the child concerned, but there would then be a hearing where the other party could attend to put their position to the Court about whether the interim orders should continue or not.
The first concern of the court is the child’s welfare. The Children Act 1989 provides a list of considerations for the judge who has to decide the case, which help guide them in deciding, including:
- the wishes and feelings of the child concerned
- the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs
- the likely effect on the child if circumstances changed as a result of the court’s decision
- the child’s age, sex, background and any other characteristics that will be relevant to the court’s decision
- any harm the child has suffered or may be at risk of suffering
- the capability of the child’s parents (or other relevant people) in meeting the child’s needs, and
- the powers available to the court
Additionally, the court must presume when considering an application for a CAO, unless the contrary is shown, that involvement of each parent (of some direct or indirect kind but not any particular division of a child’s time) in the life of the child concerned will further the child’s welfare. That presumption applies if that parent can be involved in the child’s life in a way that does not put the child at risk of suffering harm. Your family lawyer will explain how this presumption may be applicable in your circumstances.
The court must also be satisfied that making an order is better for the child than not making an order at all.
Note: The above is intended as a general overview for your information. It is NOT intended to replace proper legal advice. Each case is different, and advice cannot be given without a proper analysis of your own circumstances.
