[Solved] Section 7 report delayed

I had a follow up safeguarding interview after submitting a c79, but the call was on time and they submitted the report to the court within a week after the interview. I know they are working from home, but it sounds like they have messed this up for you in terms of timing.

Yeah sounds like it, courts have granted an extension but still haven't heard from Cafcass yet to start the report..

Hi all,

I'm writing some notes for my section 7 interview next week. I'm in the middle of writing down what contact I want in the long run.

I'm going to ask for alternate Christmas. How do you all deal with your children's birthdays? I'm unsure how or what to ask for?

hi,

have you thought about shared half days. like kids have lunch with you, then go to mums for dinner and vice versa.

in my order i have a routine where on a religious occassion, i pick up the kids the night before, then i return them for 2pm the following day. then on next occasion i have them from 11am - 5pm. and it alternates like that.

also consider getting half of school holidays, as well as taking kids abroad on holidays.

hi,

have you thought about shared half days. like kids have lunch with you, then go to mums for dinner and vice versa.

in my order i have a routine where on a religious occassion, i pick up the kids the night before, then i return them for 2pm the following day. then on next occasion i have them from 11am - 5pm. and it alternates like that.

also consider getting half of school holidays, as well as taking kids abroad on holidays.

Cheers Bill

Getting a little anxious about my section 7 report... Still haven't had it done yet! Only 4 weeks till the hearing and report has been delayed until the day before!

I chased it 2 weeks ago today and she said she was on leave and would call me this week and wouldn't take her long to do the report..

Was hoping to have heard by now, I tried to call the Cafcass office at lunch time but got no answer on her line and they sent her an email asking her to call me.

Anyone else had similar issues? Cutting it fine!

Hi all,

Finally got my section 7 interview tomorrow afternoon.

What can I expect, any tips? Is she likely to have already spoken to my son and ex?

Good luck with it!! Just remain child focused, try not to do any mudslinging towards the ex. Discuss a reasonable child arrangement, if you want 50/50, I would suggest not suggesting that right away, just work on building up to that over the space of a few months perhaps? Show them you do not want to disrupt their routine too much, that you are happy to be flexible such as allowing your ex to have them on mothers day if it is a weekend you are supposed to have them shared Christmas etc.

If there are any false allegations raised, try not to get angry/annoyed, just simply state they are not true, and where you can, provide evidence they are false. They may try and push your buttons, just do not raise to any bait.

Hope it goes well for you.

hi,

being child-focused is key. complete this parenting plan and raise it with them at interview:

https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/grown-ups/parents-and-carers/divorce-and-separation/parenting-plan/

also try to cover as much as possible, like you are seeking every other weekend, midweek overnights etc. you want half of school holidays, and permission to take kids on holiday abroad.

if cafcass recommend these things in court, then you will be on a strong footing. explain to cafcass you want all these things covered, as you hope she will agree that it's better that you do not keep returning to court in future over these issues.

Thanks guys, call is very soon. I'm very nervous!

My final hearing is meant to be next week, and Cafcass were meant to have done their safeguarding letter over a couple of weeks ago at the latest. When I received the order for the final hearing, I panicked as I thought I might have missed their call, so I rang them up to find out. They hadn't even been informed by the court to prepare a safeguarding letter and asked me to photograph and email them the order. They are calling me for the interview next week now, two hours after the final hearing. I asked if that meant the final hearing would be postponed but they didn't know. I imagine it will be.

Good luck with your call. Just be friendly and kind and always bring everything you need to say back to how it's in the child's best interest.

Re: birthdays. We alternate it. For example, this year I will have my daughter the day before her birthday, overnight into the morning of her birthday, then my ex will have our daughter for the rest of the day and overnight. Next year we will swap around. This way it's fair for everyone, and also means we both get to spend time with our daughter on her actual birthday.

For Christmas, I used to do something similar to Bill, but because none of my family live where I am, and we spend every Christmas with them, it was too much travelling back and forth. So now we take from Christmas Day to the day before New Year's Eve and cut it straight down the middle so we both get about 3 days in a row with our daughter, and then we alternate it each year. We also alternate New Years - this year I will have our daughter from 12pm on New Years Day to 12pm on 2nd Jan, next year I will have her 12pm New Years Eve to 12pm New Years Day, and so on.