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Contact

If a child’s parents cannot agree on how often the parent with whom the child is not living (the non-resident parent) should see the child, that parent can apply to the court for a Contact Order.

The Court can make a general order saying that one parent should have “reasonable contact” with the details left to be agreed by the parents or it can be much more specific, setting out the precise times and dates that contact must take place, including whether and how often the child should stay overnight with the
non-resident parent and how much holiday time the child should spend with them.

If there are allegations of abuse or violence, either by one parent towards the other or by one of the parents towards the child, the Court may be asked to decide whether that parent should have any contact with the child at all or whether contact should be supervised. A CAFCASS officer and other experts may be asked by the court to provide reports, depending on the complexity of the issues involved and the nature of any allegations made. Again, the court’s paramount consideration is what is in the child’s best interests.

In addition to Residence and Contact Orders, parents may apply under the Children Act 1989 for the court to decide any specific issue about the child (a Specific Issue Order) e.g. whether the child should undergo specific medical treatment or which school they should attend, or the parent may apply for an order preventing the other parent from taking a particular course of action in relation to the child (a Prohibited Steps Order) e.g. forbidding the other parent from removing the child from his or her home or school or from the jurisdiction without consent.

Sometimes it may be appropriate for the child, either by themselves or through a guardian or another competent adult to take proceedings themselves for orders under the Children Act 1989.

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