If you have a children's case coming up, you may have heard people say the family court is changing. They are right. On 28 October 2026 the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service published two documents that set out, in detail, how Child Focused Courts work and when they arrive in each area. The former President of the Family Division called this the biggest change to family courts in 30 years. Listen, listen. That does not mean the law about what is best for your child has changed. It means the journey through court looks different, and you need to prepare differently. Let me walk you through it.

What was announced this week

The Child Focused Courts delivery update, published on 28 October 2026, confirms that:

• The model now runs in 10 of the 42 family court areas in England and Wales, about a quarter of new private law children cases.
• Eight more areas start on 17 November 2026: Coventry and Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Cheshire and Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Cleveland and South Durham, and Northumbria and North Durham.
• Three more are planned for January 2027 (Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough), still marked to be confirmed.
• London is planned for the end of 2027, subject to readiness, and the remaining areas of the south east and south west by March 2029.

Alongside it came the target operating model, which explains step by step how a case runs. Most of what follows comes from those two documents.

What are child focused courts?

Child Focused Courts, also called the Child Focused Model, started life as the Private Law Pathfinder pilot in Dorset and North Wales in February 2022. They were the government's response to the 2020 Harm Panel report, which found that the old adversarial process could retraumatise survivors of domestic abuse and often left children unheard.

Where the model runs, it replaces the Child Arrangements Programme, the process most of our other guides describe. It applies to private law children applications, the kind made on a C100 for a child arrangements order, a prohibited steps order or a specific issue order, and to applications to enforce an existing order. It has four big ideas:

1. Find out about risk early, before anyone stands in a courtroom.
2. Hear from the child, in a way that suits their age and wishes.
3. Support victims of domestic abuse, with a specialist adviser built into the process.
4. One report, one hearing, wherever that is possible.

What has not changed: the court's paramount concern is still your child's welfare, judges still apply the welfare checklist in section 1 of the Children Act 1989, and mediation is still expected first unless an exemption applies. Our guide on how to fill in a C100 form still applies wherever you live.

Is my court a Child Focused Court?

It depends on the family court area where your application is issued, and when. This is the timetable in the delivery update annex. Dates after November 2026 are still marked as to be confirmed.

So all of Wales already uses the model. If your case is in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea or Birmingham, for example, it is already a Child Focused Court. If you are in Lancashire or Merseyside and you have not applied yet, your case may well start under the new model.

What if my case has already started?

The government calls cases that were already open when an area switches over legacy cases. They carry on under the Child Arrangements Programme until they finish, while new applications follow the new model. If you are not sure which process your case is on, look at your latest court order or ask the court office. It matters, because it changes which reports and hearings to expect.

The old process and the new, side by side

If your case is still under the old programme, our guides to what happens at a FHDRA and preparing for a Cafcass safeguarding call are written for you.

How a case runs in a Child Focused Court, step by step

This is the journey described in the target operating model.

1. You applyA parent or carer applies on a C100, or applies to enforce an existing order. The usual mediation requirement and court fee still apply. Check the current fee on GOV.UK and whether you can get Help with Fees.
2. The court may phone youIf you are representing yourself, court staff are meant to telephone you within 5 to 10 working days of the application being served, to check you understand the papers, explain the process and ask about any special measures or adjustments you need. Answer that call, or call back.
3. GatekeepingA judge or legal adviser reviews the papers, identifies the key issues and decides which agency writes the Child Impact Report. In England the court checks with the local authority first. In Wales, Cafcass Cymru leads and passes the case to the local authority if the criteria are met.
4. The Child Impact Report is preparedThe social worker carries out safeguarding checks, speaks to each of you, and usually speaks with your child. If domestic abuse is raised, a referral to an IDVA can be made with your consent. The report is due within 50 working days of the order, unless the court allows longer.
5. The judge reads the reportAt the Safeguarding Gatekeeping Appointment the judge or magistrates consider the report. If it gives them what they need, particularly if you both agree, they can make a final order without anyone attending. If that happens, you can ask the court to reconsider, usually within seven days of the order being served, so read any order the day it arrives.
6. The Decision HearingIf there are still issues, the court lists a Decision Hearing. Informed by the report, the judge explores the issues with you both, helps you focus on your child, and if you still cannot agree, decides and makes a final order. Extra hearings are the exception, for example a fact finding hearing or an urgent application.

What is a Child Impact Report?

The Child Impact Report is the heart of the new model. It combines, in one document:

• safeguarding checks with the police and local authority,
• risk assessments, including a DASH risk assessment where domestic abuse is raised,
• your child's wishes, feelings and circumstances,
• each parent's or carer's views on the recommendations, and
• the social worker's recommendations to the court.

Because it replaces both the safeguarding letter and the Section 7 report, it arrives early and it carries a lot of weight. The judge has it before any hearing you attend. That is the single biggest practical change for parents: the most important conversation in your case may be your conversation with the social worker, not your first time in front of a judge.

Will the social worker speak to my child?

Usually, yes. This is a real change. Under the old programme, Cafcass is not allowed to contact a child before the first hearing, and only about a third of children were engaged during their case. Under the Child Focused Model, the social worker is expected to engage with your child unless your child does not want to share a view, or it would not be appropriate. With a very young child, the social worker can observe them with each parent instead.

The delivery update reports that in the areas already running the model, 82% of cases allocated to Cafcass in England and 87% to Cafcass Cymru in Wales included direct engagement with the child.

If the social worker decides not to speak with your child, for example because nothing has changed since a recent case, or because it would be traumatising, the report must say why. Your child can also take part in other ways if they wish, such as writing to or meeting the judge.

What changes if there has been domestic abuse?

The government's own figures estimate that domestic abuse is a feature in between 73% and 87% of private law children cases, so this part of the model matters to a great many families.

• A specialist adviser. Where domestic abuse is raised, a referral can be made, with your consent, to an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser. The IDVA offers practical and emotional support and carries out a DASH risk assessment.
• Their view reaches the court. With the victim's agreement, the IDVA can share a summary of their professional judgement, which is attached to the Child Impact Report and seen by the court and the parties, unless sharing it would be unsafe.
• Not based on gender. Referrals are open to anyone. Where both parents make allegations, both can be referred.
• Fact finding still happens where needed. The court still decides whether findings of fact are necessary and proportionate, in line with Practice Direction 12J.

We explain how the court approaches abuse, special measures and the ban on cross examination in does domestic abuse affect child contact? If you are the parent facing allegations, the same advice applies to you: stay calm, answer the social worker's questions honestly and in your own words, and keep the focus on your child. If you are frightened for your safety or your child's, call 999, and see our Keeping You Safe page for helplines and safety planning.

How to prepare if you are representing yourself

In the Child Focused Court areas where I sit beside parents, including Birmingham, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, the parents who do well are the ones who are ready early. Here is what I tell them.

1. Prepare before you apply, not before the hearing. The information gathering happens up front. Have your proposal, your timeline and your documents ready when you send the C100.
2. Treat every call from the court or social worker as important. Save the numbers. If a call comes at a bad moment, ask politely to arrange another time.
3. Write a child centred proposal. What arrangement would work for your child, week by week, holidays included? Cafcass's free Our Child's Plan is a good structure.
4. Raise safety early and plainly. If there are risks, say so on the C1A and in your calls. If you need special measures, such as a separate waiting room or screens, ask straight away.
5. Read the report the day it arrives. Note any factual errors and any points you disagree with. Disagreements with recommendations are for the judge; tell the court clearly and calmly.
6. Read every order the day it arrives. A decision can be made without a hearing, and the time to ask for it to be reconsidered is short.
7. Go to the Decision Hearing ready to agree. It may be your only hearing. Know what you can accept, and what you cannot.

For a fuller checklist, see representing yourself in family court, and if you would like someone calm beside you, read what a McKenzie Friend can and can't do.

Is it actually faster?

The early figures are encouraging. The delivery update says that in West Yorkshire, the largest area so far, cases are resolved in 19.6 weeks on average, 12 weeks faster than before, and outstanding cases fell by more than a quarter in the three months to June 2026 compared with a year earlier. The latest national figures put the average private law children case at 33 weeks.

Speed is not the only test, and the government says so itself: experience and outcomes for children matter most, and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner's office has been funded to review three Child Focused Court areas.

What else is changing in family justice?

Other reforms are coming too. Neither changes your case today:

• Repealing the presumption of parental involvement. This is part of the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which was at committee stage in the House of Lords as we wrote this. Until it becomes law and comes into force, the presumption in section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989 still applies.
• Digital case management. The target operating model says HMCTS plans to move private law cases onto a digital system across all 140 family court locations between October 2026 and March 2027, subject to discussions with the President of the Family Division.

Five lessons for parents

1. Find out which process you are on. Your area, and the date you applied, decide it.
2. The report comes first. Prepare for the social worker as carefully as you would for the judge.
3. Your child will usually be heard. Let them speak for themselves.
4. One hearing means one chance. Arrive organised, with a proposal and a clear view of what you can agree.
5. Safety is built in. If abuse is part of your story, say so early, and accept the support offered.