Cafcass Welfare of the Child Training
Please would you provide details on the training you provide to train your staff that the Welfare of the Child is paramount to the expressed and ascertained “wishes and feelings of the child”. Again, please provide dates on which that training was commissioned, dates it was deployed, completion rates in 2016 and in 2017, and a copy of any such training.
Cafcass responded:
Cafcass does not run training for practitioners that specifically focuses on the Welfare of the Child…
They go on to say:
The role of Cafcass is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Practitioners assess children’s needs and write reports or a case analysis to the court recommending how a child’s welfare can best be promoted and safeguarded, with reference to the Welfare Checklist.
and they add:
Cafcass has a Child Protection Policy which sets out the requirements placed on Cafcass staff to to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The policy is mandatory reading as part of the induction process for all staff.
Cafcass Child Protection Policy can be found here:
LINK to PDF
In a Family Law system designed for combative parents there is no real allowance for the views of children and any understanding of how Family Law ultimately impacts on children most of all.
We speak for the children in Family Law so that, finally, the children have a voice.