What’s it like working as a family court magistrate?
With this role you will gain insights into a range of child welfare issues and be able to make a tangible difference to the community as a whole. It can mean you might deal with some difficult emotional situations, but you’ll have support and dedicated training to help you develop the skills you’ll need to handle them effectively.
What will I do?
As a magistrate in the family court, you could be:
- making decisions that affect vulnerable children
- supporting separated parents in making arrangements for their children
- enforcing child maintenance orders
- helping prevent domestic abuse
It’s an important role in which you can have a significant impact on a child’s life and welfare, and a family’s future.
Court observations
As family court cases are heard in private, you will not be able to observe a family court hearing before you apply. Applicants to the family court are required to carry out research into the family court before they apply. A useful place to start would be our family division of the magistrates court research resources. You can find further useful information under the before you apply section of the application process.
In addition, you may also choose to visit a criminal magistrates court to observe proceedings and get a sense of what being a magistrate entails.
See below for two roleplay videos designed to give you an insight into the role of a magistrate in the family court (access the subtitles by clicking play, then ‘cc’ in the bottom right hand corner of the video):
Video 1 – A Public Law Case
Read full video transcript
Court clerk (0:23)
Stand please.
0:25
[Background noise]
Legal Advisor (0:44)
Good morning your worships. I shall just start the recording. This is the first case on your list, FC26734598 and is the matter of Wessex County Council and Logan. This is an application for an interim care order for the child Sophie who is five months old and currently in emergency foster care with the local authority. Perhaps you could ask Mr Evans ma’am Counsel for the local authority to introduce the participants and outline the case for the authority.
Magistrate (1:17)
Thank you, madam Legal Adviser. Yes please Mr Evans.
Mr Evans (1:20)
Good morning your worships. I represent Wessex local authority and seated behind me is Miss Donkin, the social worker. Across the bench is Mr Sulpher, who acts for the mother Miss Logan who is seated next to him. Next to me is Mr Nappa who represents the guardian for the child, Sophie, the guardian Mr Jolyn is seated behind Mr Nappa. This matter comes before court today following concerns regarding the care of Sophie, who’s five months old. The application for an interim care order comes on the back of concerns by the local authority, general practitioner, and community midwife regarding the mother’s relationship, in which there have been allegations of domestic abuse violence and drug use during the mother’s later stages of pregnancy. These concerns have heightened since the birth and the health visitor has reported that the child is showing signs of neglect and failure to thrive. This culminated in a police call out to a party at the house in the early hours of Sunday morning at which there was evidence of loud music late at night, drug use and rowdy behaviour including that of Miss Logan, who is alleged to have obstructed a Police Officer. On searching the property police found the child Sophie awake and crying in a bedroom. There was evidence of drug taking paraphernalia in the child’s room and the child was distressed, cold, clearly hungry and looked unwashed and neglected. The police took the decision immediately to take the child into care. The local authority subsequently placed the child in temporary foster care and today they seek an interim care order to secure her well-being in a foster placement. Miss Logan, the mother, is present in the court and represented by Mr Sulpher. The biological father’s name appears on the birth certificate, so he does therefore have parental responsibility. Unfortunately, he’s not present today and indeed the police currently wish to speak to him about various matters arising from the neighbourhood disturbance on Sunday. Consequently, I can tell you that efforts are being made to seek his whereabouts, however the local authority will seek to provide evidence that Miss Logan and her partner have been together for some 15 months and that during that period there have been several police call outs to domestic disturbances including violence and injury to Miss Logan. If your worships are minded to grant the interim care order today then the local authority would also be seeking orders to begin the process of information gathering and assessments including police reports, drug testing of the mother, medical reports in the general practitioner and the health visitor and appropriate interim contact between mother and child.
Alongside these reports the local authority will be seeking a parental assessment of the mother. My learned friend and I have had discussions prior to this hearing, and we would suggest the following timetable. Health visitor and GP reports by 12th of May, drug testing on the mother by the 26th of May, parental assessment report by the local authority by 8th of June, police reports by 15th of June, statement from the mother by 22nd of June, which will leave us requiring a date for a further hearing in the week commencing the 28th of June. If that could be a mid-week date that will afford us the opportunity to have an advocates meeting the day before the hearing.
For the court’s convenience, I would also state that the 26-week limit for the conclusion of these proceedings will be October the 13th, unless I can assist your worships further.
Magistrate (4:40)
Thank you, Mr Evans that was very helpful. Yes, please Mr Sulphur.
Mr Sulpher (4:45)
Thank you, your worships. I am grateful to my learned friend for his summary of the situation as the local authority sees it. However, on behalf of Miss Logan I will say that my client denies use of any drugs and furthermore she denies that there has been any violence or abuse in the relationship. Having said that the mother’s position today is that reluctantly she does not oppose the making of an interim care order but would wish that the court consider a kinship placement with her mother. Nevertheless, she wishes to cooperate with the local authority to ultimately achieve a speedy reunification with her daughter, Sophie. Your worship’s I think it might be helpful to give some background to this application from the perspective of my client and her daughter Sophie. Sophie and her mother live together in rented accommodation in Turnpike Road. They’ve lived there for some two years, having been securing a tenancy with the help of the local women’s aid following my client’s desire to escape from a violent and abusive relationship. Fifteen months ago, the same partner made contact with her again and the relationship between the two of them recommenced. My client fell pregnant with Sophie quite quickly and while she admits that there were a number of incidents involving police call outs prior to the birth of Sophie, this was because she and her partner were arguing because of debts and also because they were finding it difficult to cope with the pregnancy and then the subsequent arrival of a new baby. Now my client disagrees that there has been any violence during those incidents. Your worship, the most recent incident which led to Sophie being taken into care occurred when my client and her partner decided to have a party to celebrate the birth of their daughter and matters did get out of hand after some partygoers consumed drugs and alcohol. As I previously stated my client absolutely denies that she had drunk too much alcohol or indeed had taken any drugs herself. She says that she was only aware at the end of the evening that some guests were using drugs and she told them to stop and to leave the home immediately. Now she admits that this may have sparked off the noisy and rowdy behaviour, which resulted in the calling of the police.
As far as the allegation of obstructing a police constable, my client would say that she became angry and distressed when she was told that they were going to remove her daughter from her care and though she regrets her actions, she admits that she did try to prevent the police constable from removing Sophie from the house. She tells me that she was horrified to find drug paraphernalia in the room and is emphatic that it is not hers. She absolutely denies that the child was cold or hungry and she states that she had given Sophie milk just before she put her down to bed at 8pm. And she also asserts that the child was only distressed because she’d been woken by strangers entering the bedroom. Your worships, as I’ve already stated, my client reluctantly agrees to the making of an interim care order but wishes you to know that she will cooperate with all assessments and tests if this will hasten the time when she can take Sophie back home, thank you.
In in the meantime my client would ask that the local authority consider whether Sophie can be placed with my client’s mother, Mrs Weeks, to provide kinship care for the period while assessments are undertaken. Your worship’s if you are not with me on that point, then on behalf of my client I would ask that the court permits supervised contact at least five times per week, so that she can maintain the relationship with Sophie, and unless I can assist the court further.
Magistrate (8:59)
Thank you for that Mr Sulphur, that was very helpful. The bench may well return to you shortly for maybe a few questions. In the meantime, I think it would be helpful for us to hear from the guardian.
Mr Napper (9:10)
Thank you, your worships. The guardian has had sight of the papers relating to this case and having heard from learned counsel for the local authority and from the respondent mother, he supports the making of an interim care order in favour of the local authority. Clearly it is going to be essential that a full parental assessment of Miss logan’s capacity to care for Sophie’s undertaken and it is important for Sophie’s well-being that this should be completed as soon as is practicable. The guardian has heard that the respondent mother would prefer that Sophie is placed with the maternal grandmother, but at this stage until safeguarding is complete, the guardian cannot agree to this even though kinship care is in general terms preferable for children. Therefore, in the meantime the child should remain in the care of the local authority. As far as contact is concerned, supervised contact will be essential to Sophie and of course to the parental assessment. The guardian would certainly suggest contact on alternate days as a starting point and as the assessment proceeds and safeguarding is resolved, then perhaps the local authority will be able to review this. The guardian is also in agreement with the timetable suggested by council for the local authority. Unless I can assist the bench further.
Magistrate (10:35)
Thank you very much Mr Napper and thanks also to the guardian for his prompt response on this matter.
10:47
[Magistrates on the bench chat]
Magistrate (10:53)
Mr Sulpher, my colleague would like to know where the respondent’s mother lives.
Mr Sulpher (11:00)
Your worships, I understand Miss Logan’s mother lives only a few streets away from Miss Logan. I can ascertain the full address if that would assist the court.
Magistrate 2 (11:10)
That’s fine.
Magistrate 1 (11:11)
No thank you Mr Sulpher, I don’t think we need the full address at present thank you. I have a question for Mr Evans. Can you tell me what efforts will be made to ensure that the father of Sophie is aware of today’s hearing and its outcome?
Mr Evans (11:28)
Your worship at present, the father is a person of interest to the police. However, I am instructed that the social worker will continue to make every effort to ensure that he is told of the outcome of today’s hearing, and I can confirm that our instructing solicitors will make every effort to serve upon him the order from today’s court and the date of any further hearing.
Magistrate 1 (11:48)
Thank you for that indication, Mr Evans.
Magistrate 1 (11:59)
The bench has no further questions. Madam Legal Adviser before we retire is there any guidance you want to provide to us at the bench?
Legal Advisor (12:07)
I would advise you that an interim care order is inevitably made at a stage where the evidence is incomplete. It should therefore only be made as an order to regulate matters that cannot wait for the full hearing. It’s not intended to place either parties at an advantage or disadvantage. As an experienced bench you will be aware that removal of child under an interim care order is a particularly sharp interference and will affect the formation of the parent child bond. Therefore, in all cases where there is an interim order for immediate separation it can only be justified where it is both necessary and proportionate and can only be sanctioned by the court where the child’s physical safety, psychological or emotional welfare demands it and where the consequences of the separation are a proportionate response to the risks that would arise if it did not occur. Additionally, the high standard of justification requires the local authority to inform the court of all available resources that might remove the need for separation. in coming to your decision, you must have regard to the welfare checklist and be aware of the range of powers available to you, including the making of no order if you see fit ma’am.
Magistrate 1 (13:30)
Thank you, ma’am. Miss Logan my colleagues and I are going to go out now to make a decision that is in Sophie’s best interest. We will try not to be too long. We will return and let you know what our decision is as soon as we can.
Madam legal advisor, do you mind joining us in the retiring room in a few minutes.
Legal Advisor (13:55)
Certainly ma’am.
Magistrate 1 (13:58)
The bench will rise.
Court clerk (14:00)
Stand please.
14:17
[Background noise]
Court clerk (14:23)
Stand please.
14:27
[Bench enters room]
Legal Advisor (14:38)
I have recommenced the recording of this hearing ma’am. You can announce the decision of the court when you’re ready.
Magistrate 1 (14:45)
Thank you, ma’am. This is a matter between Wessex County Council and Logan. It concerns the child Sophie who is five months old. This is an application for an interim care order, and we have listened carefully to Counsel for the local authority and Counsel for the mother, Sarah Logan, whose positions have been presented very cogently to the court today so I will not need to repeat it in our judgment. Suffice it to say that the local authority have expressed particular concerns regarding the care and safety of Sophie. And we have also heard that in light of this, Miss Logan has made a decision, albeit reluctantly not to seek to oppose the making of an interim care order, although we note that Miss Logan wishes to maintain as much contact as is possible with her daughter and is willing to cooperate with a local authority in matters of assessment and testing. This is certainly to her credit. Nevertheless, we have heard all the evidence and with the welfare checklist having been fully considered, this bench is unanimous that the making of an interim care order today, in favour of the local authority is under the circumstances both necessary and proportionate. We are not persuaded that there is any alternative that the local authority could have presented to us at this time that would have removed the need for separation. In making this order today I wish to address Miss Logan, to say that on behalf of the bench, we are aware that for you to have agreed to the interim care order must be a decision that you have come to with a very heavy heart.
It is to your credit that you have taken these steps. Or to put it in another way, it indicates to us that you are capable of putting Sophie’s needs to the fore and in agreeing to the interim care order and working with the local authority, you’re showing everyone that you are able to be a good mother to Sophie, so don’t lose heart. As far as contact is concerned, we are guided by the guardian who states that contact between Sophie and her mother should be on alternate days, perhaps starting in two days’ time. Miss Logan the contact between you and Sophie is important for both of you. As I understand it the social worker will be assessing how things go over the next few weeks and if they go well, the matter of contact will be reviewed then. We also assent in general to the timetable as agreed by both counsel, but at this stage I will turn to our learned Legal Advisor, who can guide us as to the earliest date for the next hearing. Madam Legal Adviser.
Legal Advisor (17:39)
Yes ma’am. I shall just see if I can find a date in the diary. If all the information is back from the local authority, have sufficient time to undertake the parenting assessment, I assume that this will only require an hour, would counsel concur with that?
Mr Evans (17:58)
I agree with that. With the mother’s cooperation in assessment and testing I think that will suffice. If you will allow your worships, I will just check with the social worker.
Yes, I’m informed that the local authority believes that the parenting assessment can be undertaken within the overall agreed timetable and that 60 minutes for a directions hearing would be enough.
Mr Sulpher (18:20)
Yes, I agree with my learned friend that 60 minutes should be sufficient. However, I would like to hear from the local authority if they will have sufficient time to undertake safeguarding and an assessment of my client’s mother, should she put herself forward as kinship carer for Sophie.
Mr Evans (18:38)
If your worships would excuse me I will just for turning my back for a moment, I will seek further instructions from the social worker.
Mr Evans (18:52)
Yes, your worships, I’m instructed the local authority should be able to manage the parenting assessment on Miss Logan and additionally to undertake safeguarding and an assessment of the maternal grandmother as a kinship carer. If there is no delay in receiving application for kinship care.
Magistrate 1 (19:10)
Thank you for that indication, Mr Evans. Madam Legal Adviser.
Legal Advisor (19:14)
Yes ma’am, given the agreement from the parties, there is an available slot for an hour’s hearing on Friday the 2nd of July, which working backwards would mean an advocates meeting on Thursday the 1st of July.
Mr Sulpher (19:31)
I’m very sorry to say ma’am, I’ll not be available on the 1st of July because I have an all-day hearing in front of his Honour Judge Smith. Therefore, I wonder if my learned friend could accommodate an advocates meeting on Wednesday the 30th of June.
Mr Evans (19:49)
I would have no difficulty with that.
Legal Advisor (19:50)
Thank you for that. Advocates meeting set for the afternoon of Wednesday the 30th of June. Statement from the mother by 22nd of June, police reports by the 15th of June, parental assessment report and safeguarding and parenting assessment of maternal grandmother, if the application is made, by the 8th of June, drug testing report on the mother by the 26th of May and health visitor and GP reports by the 12th of May. Mr Evans, I assume you will take carriage of this order and that you have my email address to return the completed order to the court?
Mr Evans (20:34)
I do ma’am. I would hope to have that back to you by tomorrow.
Legal Advisor (20:37)
If your worships are agreeable to that timetable?
Magistrate 1 (20:41)
Yes, we are agreeable to that timetable, so unless there are any other issues to be agreed?
Mr Evans & Mr Sulpher 20:47
No, no thank you ma’am.
Magistrate 1 (20:50)
In that case let me thank our learned advocates for their assistance to the courts today and also to the Social Worker and to the guardian for their expert information. Above all, Miss Logan, we want to thank you for attending today. We know that it has been very difficult for you to come to the decision that you have made regarding Sophie. Now bear in mind what I said earlier, if you do work with the local authority, it may be that things change for the better. This hearing is now complete, you are free to go. The bench will rise.
Court clerk (21:23)
Stand please.
22:12 [The bench leaves the court room]
Video 2 – A Private Law Case