Types of Children Orders

There are three main orders in children proceedings: child arrangements orders, specific issue orders, and prohibited steps orders. With any order made in relation to a child, the court’s paramount consideration will be the child’s welfare. The court will consider the welfare checklist under the Children Act 1989, which sets out the following factors it must consider when making a decision:

1. The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in the light of their age and understanding)
2. Their physical, emotional, and educational needs
3. The likely effect of any change in their circumstances
4. Their age, sex, background and any characteristics which the court considers relevant
5. Any harm which they have suffered or are at risk of suffering
6. How capable each of their parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting their needs
7. The range of powers available to the court under this Act in the proceedings in question.

CHILD ARRANGEMENTS ORDER

A child arrangements order governs what people normally call “custody and access” or “residence and contact”.

Notably, the Family Court no longer uses the term ‘custody’, having updated its terminology to reflect the importance of both parents in a child’s life. The court now provides child arrangements orders, which determine:

• Where the child lives
• How often the child spends time with each parent
• How that time with the parent should look, e.g should it be supervised or take place indirectly (phone calls, for example)

To learn more about child arrangements, read our guide here: Vardags | Guide to Child Arrangements

SPECIFIC ISSUE ORDER

A specific issue order may be necessary when parents disagree about an issue unrelated to contact. This could be a dispute about which school a child goes to, whether a child is circumcised, or what the child’s surname should be. Applications for permission to live abroad are generally brought under this heading.

PROHIBITED STEPS ORDER

A prohibited steps order is an order which prevents a parent from taking a specific action in relation to the child. For example, the order may state that a parent cannot take the child out of the country, or that the child should not spend time with a specific relative or the parent’s new partner.