About the course

Cafcass understands that not every part of the course might feel like it is relatable to your individual situation. However, they ask you to take the parts of it that you feel will support you. The course aims to empower you to focus on your child's needs in a safe way.

• Protect children against some of the harmful effects of parental conflict
• To reduce the time families spend in court proceedings​
• To reduce the number of families returning to court​

The course is split into two stages: Stage1 is completed independently via online e-Learning, whilst Stage 2 is completed online in a group environment with up to 6 other parents and a Facilitator.

It will help you to understand how your situation may be affecting your child and offer practical tips to support better communication and more positive child-centred relationships.

Stage 1 (e-Learning)

This stage requires you to complete 8 modules of e-Learning including: Understanding and managing my emotions and feelings better, putting myself in my children’s shoes and how can I listen and communicate better to help my child.

Stage 2 (Groupwork)

This stage is delivered online in small groups of up to 6 parents (including yourself). You will learn about the negative impact of parental conflict on children, and how to best manage this conflict, focusing on communication, behaviour and our feelings to begin finding solutions for your children together.

You will also be introduced to Our Child’s Plan and how this tool could work for you.

The e-Learning is completed online using an e-Learning platform. Therefore, you will need access to an internet-enabled device in order to access the course material. The e-Learning is broken into modules, and you can save and return at the end of a module​ if you need to take a break. e-Learning is available in English, Polish and Urdu.

The Groupwork part of the course is delivered online either via Teams or Zoom, depending on which provider is supporting you to complete, therefore an internet enabled device with access to a microphone and camera are essential.

All parts of this course can be offered in other languages if that is required.

Once the court or your Family Court Advisor has made the referral- you will hear from a provider of the course. The course is exactly the same regardless of which provider you work with.

You will be contacted by one of the providers below, if you are unsure please contact Action for Children on the number below.

• Action For Children 01923 963031
• Child Action North West 01204 369130 Website
• Family Action 020 7241 7456 Website
• Hull & East Yorkshire Counselling (HEY) 01482 329621 Website
• Relationships Coventry and Warwickshire 024 76 225 863 Website
• Relationship Services London 0300 0032324
• YMCA 01782 222389 Website

If you don't start or complete the course we are required to inform Cafcass and the court.

This might be considered in any future court decisions about your case. We want to help you succeed, and you will be given every chance to complete the course, with our support.

No, your co-parent will attend on a different day and time than you. We cannot tell you if they have completed the course, and they won't know if you have either, unless this information is shared at court. This helps create a safe space for everyone to learn.

You have 5 weeks to complete both parts of the course.

You will need to complete stage 1 before booking stage 2.

Completion of Stage 1 (eLearning) varies for each person, but it takes on average 1 and ½ hours to complete.

Stage 2 is completed online, and the workshop runs for 2 ½ hours, with a 10-minute break.

We expect you to complete both stages as soon as possible. If there are delays or invites are missed, your case may be sent back to Cafcass.

At the end of the Groupwork session, you’ll be asked to complete a short survey. In this, you can choose to agree to a follow-up call in about six weeks, where we’ll check in and discuss any further impact or feedback you’d like to share.

You can log into your account using the email address you used at the start of the course to check your status and see if you have completed it before.

This course teaches you to develop new ways to communicate about your child. You will not be required to speak directly to your co-parent at any point, as you will each attend separate online groups. The focus is entirely on your own learning, skills and understanding.

Our Child's Plan is a helpful tool to start talking about arrangements for your children with your co-parent. It can also be shown to the court to prove you are trying to work together for your children's needs. Even if your co-parent doesn't join in, starting the plan shows you are putting your child first.

You can find out more on the Cafcass website

The plan is not a mandatory part of the Planning Together for Children Programme.

You can send the plan by post. You can also give it to your Family Court Advisor (FCA) or ask the court to share it with your co-parent for you, especially if you don't want to share your personal email. Using a co-parenting app might also be an option for communication.

An offline version of Our Child’s Plan can be found at - Help in Planning Together for Children | Cafcass.