Family Court Can Reject Welfare Expert’s Recommendations
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Lee Henderson
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When judges disagree: family court’s power to override expert welfare advice
At Osbornes Law, the family team supports clients in complex child arrangements in private proceedings.
Family judges weigh up all the evidence, including any expert evidence, before making an order that’s in the child’s best interests. Sometimes, this balancing exercise leads the judge to reject the recommendations of a reporting expert.
CAFCASS regularly provides the court with expert advice on child arrangement orders, adoption matters and other disputes involving children. In a recent case, the child’s father appealed a decision where the judge rejected the CAFCASS officer’s recommendations and made an alternative order.
The appeal court decided that the judge had been entitled to go against the specific welfare recommendations of the CAFCASS officer.
What’s the background?
In Y v E (Reasons for Departing from Cafcass Recommendation) [2025] EWHC 2437 (Fam), the children were 7 and 8 years old. The parents married in July 2022 and separated in December 2023. Without telling the father, the mother took the children to a different county and enrolled them in a new school. This resulted in them living around 70 miles apart.
The father applied for a child arrangement order. The primary issue was the children’s living arrangements during the school term. The CAFCASS officer recommended that the children should live with their father during the week and with their mother for three weekends out of four.
At the final hearing, the judge ordered that in term time, the children would live with their mother from Monday morning (delivery to school), until Friday evening when the father would collect them. They would stay with him until Monday morning.
The father appealed, arguing that the judge was wrong to go against the CAFCASS officer’s recommendations and “invert” the arrangements in that way.
Judicial discretion
The appeal judge made clear that the lower court enjoys broad discretion when deciding an issue by reference to the factors in the welfare checklist (s1 Children Act 1989). Furthermore, upholding such judicial discretion is important.
The judge had carefully evaluated the expert evidence in its legal context, noting that CAFCASS’s job was to provide the court with an opinion and specialist advice. The court’s job is different – it has to decide the case.
In this case, the judge had been entitled to depart from CAFCASS’s recommendations and had explained clearly why he had done so. One reason was that there had been several changes since the expert’s recommendations were made (e.g. both parents had moved house and the children had said they wanted to live with their mother).
Further, the judge had not exceeded the “generous ambit of his discretion” when deciding on an order that best met the children’s welfare needs.
Had he failed to explain why he departed so radically from the welfare officer’s recommendations, the case may well have been sent back for a rehearing.
What does this mean?
A judge is not bound to follow an expert’s recommendations as to a child’s living arrangements. Their role is to decide the case based on the evidence before it, with the child’s best interests being the paramount consideration. While considerable weight will be given to expert evidence, the court must have regard to all the factors in the welfare checklist before deciding what order to make.
How we can help
At Osbornes Law, we understand the complexities of family proceedings and the importance of securing the best outcome for your children. Our experienced family team is here to guide you through every step, ensuring your voice is heard and your case is handled with care. If you’re facing a child arrangements dispute, contact our specialists solicitors by:
- Filling in our online enquiry form; or
- Calling us on 020 7485 8811
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