Family judges in England and Wales have been issued new guidance encouraging them to write directly to children involved in family proceedings. The new “toolkit”, developed with the Family Justice Young People’s Board and endorsed by the President of the Family Division, aims to help children understand the often life-changing decisions made about them, and to reassure them that their views, even if not decisive, were considered.

This marks a positive shift in how the family justice system treats children, not simply as subjects of proceedings but as individuals with a right to be informed and heard. As practitioners, we often advise parents to shield children from adult conflict. But when the dust settles, those same children are frequently left trying to make sense of outcomes they were not part of.

Letters from judges can help bridge that gap by providing clarity and comfort, and potentially alleviating anxiety, especially where a child feels guilty about spending less time with one parent.

As the toolkit notes, decisions made in family courts are a “big deal” for children. They may determine where a child lives, how much time they spend with each parent, or whether contact is safe. But their emotional and psychological impact can last far beyond childhood, shaping how those young people later engage with relationships, trust, and authority.

Care must be taken. Judges must walk a delicate line: how to explain decisions in a way that is honest but not damaging, informative but age appropriate. What makes sense to a 10-year-old must also hold up when that same child reads it again at 18.

In Re A (Letter to a Young Person) [2017], a judge wrote to a 14-year-old boy who wanted to move abroad with his father that he had likely been influenced by his father and was “parroting” him. Though the judge was transparently explaining his reasoning, how might this have impacted the child’s trust in adults, or his relationship with his father? How might that have impacted on his trust in, or respect for, authority?

There are further challenges in cases involving abuse or alienation. Should this be addressed in a letter to a child (and if so, how)? Or would that cause harm? Yet to omit it might leave the child with only part of the truth, and a decision that makes less sense.

Crucially, this initiative arrives at a time when the family justice system is already under immense strain. Judges, managing overwhelming caseloads and mounting delays, may simply not have the time to craft letters that require real thought and sensitivity.

Greater transparency for children is welcome. But so too is caution, care, and time – all of which judges will need in abundance for this initiative to succeed.

Kate’s article was originally published in The Times, here.