[Solved] First Hearing Any advice

It sounds to me like the cafcass officer is sympathetic to some extent. What you don't want to do is alienate her, so my advice would be to say that you want to work towards overnights, and work with her to achieve that. Don't forget she is looking out for what is best for your son (or should be) so if she sees you doing the same, hopefully you'll get her agreement to that sooner.

I'd agree with actd.. if you attempt to try and push for too much too soon the  you risk the Cafcass officer thinking you don't understand or accept what she is saying, which considering the circumstances seems to make sense. In which case it could take you even longer to get to where you want to. If however, you work with her and demonstrate that you can look after son then potentially you will get over night and more contact sooner anyway.

It is so much more difficult to get cafcass back on board once you alienate them and then realise your mistake. In this case it appears she is trying to accommodate you whilst ensuring that son nd his needs are the priority.

All The best.

Hi Guys, so I've taken on board what you've said about contact arrangement with my son I received a letter from Cafcass basically explaining they will no longer be involved in our case, so I guess good news. My solicitor received the Order from the courts, nothing was mentioned about more contact with my son, all it said was the mother must send reports in regard to my son's additional needs to myself and the courts, And that both parties must send a written statement to each other, now we have a Dispute Resolution hearing which is 1 hour long with the chance of the courts hearing evidence if time permits. Seriously guys I'm so confused. 

Why do I need a witness statement if I put together a position statement wouldn't I just be repeating myself ?

What evidence would the courts even want to hear ? They only think I can imagine my ex saying is that I'm unable to look after my son, so I shouldn't be allowed overnight stay because he broke his leg in my care.

Also, little info on the Cafcass letter, on record Children's Services Trust, the Ex made a call to the police last year saying I was emotionally abusive but couldn't give one reason to the police on why I was emotionally abusive, basically she said I would raise my voice and tell her I didn't want her working weekends lol.

And that my son fall down the stairs in her care when he was 3 and sustained a head injury. So it didn't really look good on her part.  

Hearing evidence can simply mean the court asking you questions under oath and your solicitors asking you both questions too. 

Your solicitor will be best placed to advise on what paperwork will need to be done. 

If your ex maintains her allegations, it's possible the court would ask Cafcass to order a Section 7 report or have a fact finding hearing. Your solicitor will be able to explain this to you in more detail. 

Best of luck