President of the Family Division publishes guidance on writing to children

Date: 30th April 2025
Category: Family Environment and Alternative Care, Violence against children

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The guidance which applies to decisions made in courts in Wales and England was developed with the Family Justice Young People’s Board, as individuals shared their personal experiences of proceedings and their thoughts on communication from judges. 

In his foreword to the guidance which is published as a toolkit, the President of the Family Division said: ‘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.’ It is hoped that this toolkit will simplify the process by removing barriers that once hindered judges from communicating the reasoning behind their decisions to the children affected by those decisions. 

In Scotland, there have been limited examples of courts taking similar action. One notable example was issued by Sheriff Anwar in 2017 when she wrote a letter to children in a contact case. There are calls for similar guidance to be created in Scotland. 

 

• Read the full guidance and access resources here 

• Download the toolkit here