[Solved] Section 7 Order in first hearing

Hi there's no rules to negotiating your way through a S7 - basically you will speak with the CAFCASS officer about the situation and the children might meet with them too if old enough.

Stay child focused, answer any questions posed to you honestly and try not to be too personal about the mother. Always speak from the perspective of the child.

A court generally goes with the recommendations of a S7 but there is usually a review hearing of about 1 hour to see if the parents can agree. If you can't, a final hearing can be listed.

hi

i was in a similar situation to you last year, at my first hearing cafcass recommended a section 7 report and i got supervised contact due to allegations that i wasnt a capable father so had to pay to prove it.

I showed the contact reports to the social worker to prove they were excellent and she lied but he just skim read them. i thought it was odd because it was important to case but he said the judge will see those and i havent been ordered to stand in at the contact sessions or anything so they are not as important to my work.

Its basically similar to the telephone interview from cafcass and more in depth and will be face to face with the cafcass officer or the social worker from local authority depending on who is ordered to do it.
They will also want to look around your home, make sure accomodation is safe/secure and adequate for child.

they will ask you about past present and what you want from future
so past...how you were when together, what led to separation, all relevant back ground information to paste a picture
present...so what the issues of dispute are between you, where you live, work, hobbies, commitments/routines that could affect contact etc.

any concerns you wish to raise (but dont do she said this she said that. state anything that you can back up with evidence otherwise they will ignore it to be honest and its a waste of breath)

in my case he was very sympathetic towards mother even though he didnt know her and made it sound like she was a genuine victim (despite a police report proving she was a greedy lier)...everything i was saying to prove she lied/fabricated it was deemed as "my opinion but whatever she said was interpreted as gospel. This did wind me up but you have to keep calm.
dont let them judge your body language or tone as aggressive or its game over.
just state facts and back them up with reference to evidence and anything she mentions unless its proven with evidence then deem it as her opinion although in your eyes its false/malicious.

Then it will be based on the points of the welfare checklist
The seven criteria included in the checklist under s1(3) Children‘s Act 1989:

The wishes and feelings of the child concerned (if they are old enough)

The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs

The likely effect on the child if circumstances changed as a result of the courts decision

The child’s age, [censored], backgrounds and any other characteristics which will be relevant to the courts decision

Any harm the child has suffered or may be at risk of suffering

Capability of the child’s parents (or any other person the courts find relevant) at meeting the child’s needs

The powers available to the court in the given proceedings

and they will make recommendations at the end.
usually regarding the next step to take contact/residence any increase etc
and they will state whether there is any need for further reports/involvement/further orders for cafcass /social services if so what.

good luck

Thank you for your detailed message. It doesnt fill me with a lot of hope. She has mudslinged earlier in the safe guarding report when I tried to keep it clean. This is what has landed me (partially) to having contact but no overnights till the section 7 is completed. Her allegations are historical and no where near serious to warrant this. The judge wouldn't go against the cafcass recommendations unfortunately.

This time I hope to bring up every evidence backed lies she has said. And how she has gone back on agreeing 3 days per week to nothing right now. We were negotiating arrangements through solicitors. She has backtracked on that arrangement stating the lawyer made a mistake.

Could you share how your section 7 went in the end.

Did you have a female or male officer. Does it make a difference ? What about the judge in the end ?

Hi there's no rules to negotiating your way through a S7 - basically you will speak with the CAFCASS officer about the situation and the children might meet with them too if old enough.

Stay child focused, answer any questions posed to you honestly and try not to be too personal about the mother. Always speak from the perspective of the child.

A court generally goes with the recommendations of a S7 but there is usually a review hearing of about 1 hour to see if the parents can agree. If you can't, a final hearing can be listed.

Thank you. I understand the process well by now(have had to learn). Am keen to get some insights into how to deal with the officer. What to say what not to say. Am also curious to hear what was your experience and the outcome you managed to get.

As long as the social worker doesnt raise any concerns then contact will and should move forward. I had a male but he was very sided to mum. It wasnt nice if u search my previous posts there's a thread about section 7 nightmare if u get chance to read it. Don't worry though as long as there is no actual evidence against you then it will work out in end. The judge read it but didn't entirely follow all recommendations