Care proceedings are the court process a local authority in England and Wales uses when it believes a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm and wants a judge to decide what should happen next. The outcome can range from no order at all, through a supervision order that keeps the child at home with monitoring, to a placement order that clears the way for adoption without parental consent. If you have received a letter from children’s services or a court application has already landed, the process is governed by the Children Act 1989 and follows a fixed timetable.
What the Local Authority Has to Prove
A court cannot make a care or supervision order unless the local authority clears what Section 31 of the Children Act 1989 calls the threshold criteria. It must show that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, and that the harm is linked to the care being given, the care likely to be given, or the child being beyond parental control.1Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 31
Harm covers ill-treatment and damage to a child’s health or development, including non-physical harm. “Significant” means more than minor or trivial. The authority has to prove its case on the balance of probabilities, which means persuading the court that what it alleges is more likely true than not.2LexisNexis. Public Children – Threshold Criteria
Clearing the threshold is not enough on its own. The child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration under Section 1 of the Children Act 1989, and the judge works through a welfare checklist that includes the child’s wishes and feelings, their physical, emotional, and educational needs, the likely effect of any change, any harm suffered or at risk, and how capable each parent is of meeting those needs.3Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 1 The court also applies the “no order” principle: it will not make any order unless doing so would be better for the child than not making one.
The Pre-Proceedings Letter
Most cases do not start in court. Before issuing an application, the local authority follows the Public Law Outline, which includes a formal pre-proceedings stage.
Parents receive a letter before proceedings. It sets out the authority’s concerns, summarises what support has already been offered, lists the changes the parents need to make, invites them to a meeting, and tells them to get legal advice.4Judiciary of England and Wales. Support for and Work With Families Prior to Court Proceedings This stage generally lasts no longer than 16 weeks, though it can be extended. During it, the local authority may run parenting assessments and look at whether any relatives or close family friends could care for the child if removal becomes necessary. If the parents make enough progress, the case can step out of pre-proceedings. If concerns remain, the authority moves to court.
Treat the letter as the start of the legal process, not a warning you can leave until later. Progress during this stage, or the lack of it, becomes evidence.
Paying for a Solicitor
Parents facing care proceedings are entitled to non-means-tested legal aid. The government covers solicitor fees regardless of income or savings, and the entitlement extends to anyone else with parental responsibility for the child.5GOV.UK. Scope of Family Proceedings Under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 Funding is available during the pre-proceedings stage too, so you can instruct a solicitor as soon as the letter arrives rather than waiting for a court date.
The child is represented separately. Cafcass appoints a Children’s Guardian, who in turn instructs a solicitor for the child.
When a Child Can Be Removed Before the Final Hearing
If a child is in immediate danger, the local authority can apply for an emergency protection order under Section 44 of the Children Act 1989. The order lasts up to eight days and can be extended once for up to seven more. It is used only when there is no time for a less intrusive option.
Once proceedings are issued, the court can make interim care orders under Section 38 while the case runs its course. The judge needs reasonable grounds to believe the threshold criteria are met. An interim order gives the local authority temporary parental responsibility and allows the child to be placed away from home while assessments continue.6Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 38 For many families, this is the point at which a child first moves into foster care, with the final outcome still months away.
The Court Timetable
The local authority starts the case by filing a C110A application with the family court and paying the court fee.7GOV.UK. Form C110A Application for a Care or Supervision Order or an Emergency Protection Order It also files a care plan setting out its proposal for where the child should live and what contact should look like.8GOV.UK. The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2 – Care Planning, Placement and Case Review
From the moment the application is issued, the court works to a 26-week target to complete the case. The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced this limit to stop children from being left in legal limbo. Extensions are possible only where genuinely necessary to resolve the case justly, and are not meant to be routine.9Legislation.gov.uk. Children and Families Act 2014 – Explanatory Notes – Section 14
Three hearings carry the case:
- The Case Management Hearing is the first major court date. The judge identifies the issues, decides what evidence and expert reports are needed, and sets the timetable.
- The Issues Resolution Hearing is a chance to narrow or settle what is still in dispute. If everyone agrees on the care plan, the case can end here. If not, the judge pins down what has to be decided at trial.
- The Final Hearing is the trial. Witnesses give evidence and are cross-examined. The judge weighs the social work evidence, expert reports, and the Children’s Guardian’s analysis and makes the final decision.
Shorter procedural hearings often run on video link; the final hearing is more likely to be in person.
Who Is Involved
The local authority social worker is the most visible figure. They visit the home, compile evidence, write reports, and prepare the care plan.
The Children’s Guardian is appointed by Cafcass and is independent of the local authority. The guardian investigates what outcome would best serve the child and files a recommendation for the court. They also appoint the child’s solicitor.10GOV.UK. If Your Child Is Taken Into Care – Going to Court
A judge, or in some cases a bench of magistrates, hears the evidence and makes the binding decisions. More complex cases are sent to a circuit judge or a High Court judge.
What the Judge Can Order
At the end of proceedings the court chooses from a range of orders. Which one depends on the welfare checklist and what the evidence shows will give the child long-term stability.
Care Order
A care order gives the local authority parental responsibility, shared with the parents. Parents keep their parental responsibility but the authority can limit how they use it and can override them when necessary.11LexisNexis. Care Order The authority decides where the child lives, whether with foster carers, in a residential placement, or with approved relatives. The order lasts until the child turns 18 unless discharged earlier.
Supervision Order
The child stays at home and the local authority appoints a supervisor to advise, assist, and monitor the family. A supervision order lasts one year initially and can be extended, but the total duration cannot exceed three years.
Special Guardianship Order
A special guardianship order places the child with someone who is not a parent, often a grandparent, aunt, or family friend. The special guardian gets parental responsibility and can use it to the exclusion of the parents for most day-to-day decisions. The guardian must be at least 18 and cannot be a parent of the child. The judge can make this order during care proceedings even if nobody formally applied for it.12Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Special Guardianship
Child Arrangements Order
Under Section 8, the court can specify who the child lives with and who they spend time with.13Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 8 This is often used when a child goes to live with a relative and the local authority is not kept involved as a corporate parent.
Placement Order
A placement order authorises the local authority to place the child for adoption and can be made without parental consent. It is the most far-reaching outcome, because adoption ends the legal relationship with the birth parents permanently. Courts treat it as a last resort and only make the order where nothing less will meet the child’s needs.
No Order
If the evidence does not justify intervention, or if the welfare checklist points against any order, the court can make no order and the child stays with the parents without court-imposed conditions.3Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 1
Contact After a Care Order
A care order does not cut off the relationship between parent and child. The local authority has a duty under Section 34 to allow the child reasonable contact with parents, any guardian, and certain other people who had a relationship with the child before the order.14Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 34
The judge can make a specific contact order alongside the care order, fixing frequency and conditions. If the authority later wants to reduce or stop contact, it needs the court’s permission. In urgent cases it can suspend contact for up to seven days without an order, but must go back to court for anything longer. Contact may be supervised or unsupervised, in person or by phone or video, depending on the risks identified during the case. If you disagree with the arrangements, you can apply to the court for a different order.
Challenging or Ending an Order
Care orders are not necessarily permanent. A parent, the child, or the local authority can apply under Section 39 to discharge a care order if circumstances have changed.15Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 39 A parent who has addressed the problems that led to the order can ask for it to be discharged so the child can come home. The court applies the welfare test again.
If you believe the original decision was wrong, you can appeal. Appeals from the family court go to the High Court or, in some cases, the Court of Appeal. You need permission, and the appeal must generally be filed within 21 days of the order. An appeal is not a chance to re-run the case; you have to show the judge made a legal error or reached a decision no reasonable judge could have reached on the evidence. Your solicitor can advise on whether there are realistic grounds.
Supervision orders end automatically when their period expires and do not have to be formally discharged, though the local authority can apply for a care order during that period if the child’s situation deteriorates.