Section 7 Report Overdue

Sadly thats all too common and nothing can be done. The courts are under pressure and are unlikely to take any action.  You could email the court and see what happens.  Put the case number and hearing date in the heading.   Sometimes the report is not ready for the hearing and its adjourned.  Sometimes its presented on the day.  Hopefully you will see it soon.  Have you any idea what it might recommend?  It can be very frustrating

@champagne I have no idea what the recommendation will be, I have little faith in the SW. 

I am planning for the worst but hoping for the best. Currently I have indirect contact via cards and presents which I have adhered to for over 2 years.

My application is for supervised contact, with a contact plan to move to contact in the community. I have not seen my daughter for over 5 years.

Lucy Faithful Foundation have produced 4 reports in support of my application from 2020 to 2022. But the SW only had a 1 hour meeting with me in December and a 5 min home visit in January, so not the most robust assessment to say the least.

I really need to know my daughters wishes, thoughts and feelings about the matter and to establish what she knows about me, as I am pretty confident mum has not been promoting indirect contact and has been withholding the cards, even though it was in the court order that she should encourage responses from my daughter. Two years and not a single thank you message.

I would hope that supervised contact will be agreed.  Courts are keen that children know both parents.  However, as you haven't seen your daughter for a while then supervised contact will be the way forward.  You could ask that progression is built into the order.  For instance, if supervised contact is for 3 months say, then you could ask for contact with a family member after that without having to go back to court.  Good luck.  If you have parental responsibility ie you are on the birth certificate, then you are entitled to reports from the school about your daughter's progress.  There is a guide to sorting out child arrangements on the advicenow.org.uk website which might be helpful

@champagne thanks, that’s really helpful, I will check it out. I will also ask my solicitor to write to the school to request school reports, as they have not been forthcoming when dealing with me directly. Your advice is appreciated.