Putting Children First – Reflections on the Family Solutions Group Report (March 2026)
The Family Solutions Group’s report, Putting Children First: The Evolving Role of the Family Law Professional, is both timely and important. It builds on the earlier What About Me? report and reflects a profession that is genuinely seeking to evolve in how it supports families at the point of separation.
It opens with a child’s voice, which powerfully reminds us that family separation is not simply a legal process, but a defining moment in a child’s life. The way we, as professionals, respond to that moment has the potential to shape a child’s future.
That is a responsibility we should not underestimate.
At Family Law Partners, the report has prompted us to reflect carefully on how we practice, what we already do well, and where we can go further. What follows sets out our response to its findings and the commitments we are making in light of them.
For every new client where children are involved, we will share the Children’s Commissioner’s letter to separating parents. We will continue to provide access to trusted child-focused resources and professionals, and we will signpost parents from the outset about the impact of separation on their children and how to minimise harm.
This approach is underpinned by our ongoing investment in training, ensuring our lawyers are equipped to advise parents on the real impact of separation on children.
The report is right to emphasise the importance of providing information to parents about the impact of conflict on children. But we also need to reflect carefully on how that information is delivered.
At a time when families are already processing significant change, lengthy written documents are not always the most effective approach. Even reading this report has taken several hours of focused time. Too often, important information is provided in formats that are simply not accessible at a time of emotional overwhelm.
We need to be more creative. Video, modular learning, podcasts and other formats all have a role to play in ensuring that information is not only provided but genuinely understood. This is something I feel strongly about. The format in which information is delivered matters.
The report also highlights something that I think often goes unacknowledged in financial remedy work: how rarely the impact on children is explicitly referenced. Financial proceedings can run for years, and the emotional toll on children of prolonged parental conflict is significant. Child welfare cannot be understood solely in financial terms. It must encompass emotional and psychological wellbeing, and the impact of family dynamics on children as their parents move through separation.
If we are serious about placing children at the centre of our work, equipping parents with the right information and framing from the very beginning is not optional. It is foundational and that should happen even when their work with us is finance focused, as it is likely to lead to better outcomes for all family members and it is hoped earlier resolution of financial matters.
At Family Law Partners, non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) is in our DNA. We will continue our long-term strategy of guiding families away from adversarial approaches and promoting a problem-solving model that prioritises children’s safety and wellbeing.
We are committed to training our lawyers in non-court dispute resolution and child-focused practice, enabling them to guide clients towards constructive, child-centred pathways wherever suitable. As a firm, we have 17 Mediators – including 7 Hybrid Mediators and 3 Child Inclusive Mediators – 14 collaboratively trained lawyers, various Resolution Accredited Specialists, 2 Arbitrators, and in an in-house therapist and Director of Wellbeing supporting client’s and delivering reflective practice already, and have committed to training others in the team in NCDR in the year ahead.
At the core of the report is a call for a reframing of family law: from an adversarial model towards one that is more problem-solving, investigative, and focused on outcomes that prioritise a child’s welfare and safety.
This is a shift I recognise in my own practice. Through training in NCDR as a mediator, and in particular child-inclusive mediation, my perspective has broadened. The focus moves away from the adult to adult dynamic and towards the relationship between parent and child. When that shift happens, the quality of decision-making improves. Outcomes tend to be more thoughtful, more sustainable, and more aligned with the long-term needs of the family.
The report also rightly highlights that, as legal professionals, we typically receive our instructions from one individual within a family. Hearing from only one parent is not always in the child’s best interests, as inevitably, we are not always seeing the full picture.
This was one of the most significant shifts in my own practice when I trained as a mediator. Working with both parties fundamentally changes your perspective. It allows you to recognise that every member of a family has a story, and that those stories are not about being right or wrong, but about how each person is making sense of their situation. The training and experience lead to you being more curious in the questions you raise, and this can help support parents in their approach and decision making, and reduces the acrimony which benefits the child. We are not doing our best work when we limit ourselves to a single perspective.
A multidisciplinary approach builds on this further. Embedding therapeutic support alongside legal advice, whether in mediation or in our two-client one-lawyer model – Agreeable, allows emotional and practical needs to be addressed in parallel. We are, in many ways, the builders of the boardroom for our clients, working with them to identify who needs to be at the table to support their family through separation. That may include lawyers, mediators, therapists, financial advisers, and others. The aim is to create a process that works for the whole family.
One area where I would urge careful thought is in the implementation of any new requirements to set out detail about children in agreed cases – such as through Form D81 as suggested. Written words carry power, and earlier processes, such as statements of arrangements that used to be filed alongside divorce petitions, in my experience often increased tension between parents even in cases where there was previously cooperation. There is a balance to be struck between embedding child welfare and avoiding processes that inadvertently cause harm and we must be careful not to put in place systems that are skewed by the more high-conflict children work we undertake. Many families and parents are able to work well together for the sake of their children, and where this is the case, only the lightest of touches in terms of the provision of information should be provided.
We have held reflective practice sessions for our lawyers for more than a decade and have long known that supported professionals lead to better decision-making and therefore better outcomes for families and children. This forms a core part of our professional development, ensuring our lawyers continually learn, reflect and strengthen their practice.
Led by our Director of Wellbeing, Kim Crewe, our whole team takes part in regular reflective practice which creates a space for them to think about their work and learn from experience.
It is not possible to do this work without being impacted by it.
We sit alongside families at some of the most difficult moments in their lives, hearing accounts of conflict, safeguarding concerns, and deeply personal experiences. To do that work without being affected would be neither realistic nor desirable.
When I began my career 20 years ago, this was rarely spoken about. We are now in a much better place, where there is greater openness, and acknowledgement, of the emotional reality of the work. Reflective practice provides the space to process that.
At Family Law Partners, we are fortunate to have an in-house therapist and Director of Wellbeing in Kim Crewe. Reflective practice enhances not only our work with clients, but how we work with each other. It fosters a more open and supportive environment, which is essential in a profession that can be emotionally demanding.
In mediation, this is complemented by supervision through Professional Practice Consultants. The support and challenge that comes from that process has shaped not only my mediation practice, but how I work more broadly.
The report highlights a strong consensus within the profession about what good practice looks like. And yet there remains a clear gap between that shared understanding and how we practice day to day. Training is essential, but it is only the starting point. The real difference lies in how that learning is lived in practice. There are many practitioners who hold multiple qualifications, yet do not always practice in a way that reflects that learning.
This is where reflective practice becomes critical. There is much that family law can learn from the therapeutic professions, where supervision and reflective practice are more deeply embedded.
We have one of the largest non-court dispute resolution family teams in the country, including three Child Inclusive Mediators.
We are committed to investing in specialist training across the firm, including non-court dispute resolution and child inclusive mediation, and will continue to grow the number of Child Inclusive Mediators across all our teams.
We embed continuous professional development across all levels of the firm, ensuring our lawyers remain at the forefront of best practice in understanding children’s experiences and supporting families effectively.
Chapter 5 of the report, The Voice of the Child, is particularly strong. It addresses directly the scepticism that still exists within parts of the profession about whether Child Inclusive Mediators and child consultants have the requisite skills to engage with children appropriately.
From my own experience, that concern is addressed through the care and rigour built into the process itself, when starting work with parents, and assessing the suitability of child inclusive mediation. It works for many families, but not all, and it is something children must want to engage with and therefore be right for them.
Child Inclusive Mediation is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Careful consideration is always given to whether it is appropriate. Where children have additional therapeutic needs, or are already being supported by other professionals, it may not be the right process. Where it is appropriate, however, the impact can be profound.
The preparatory work with parents is often transformative. It creates a space for parents to reflect on who their child is, their personality, their interests, their needs, and how they may be experiencing the separation. It allows concerns to be explored and reassurance to be given that the child is not being asked to make decisions, but simply to have their voice heard.
That process, in itself, often brings parents closer together. This is something many other processes in family law struggle to achieve.
The research cited in the report reinforces this. Where children are given a voice, there is greater satisfaction with outcomes, increased parental cooperation, and stronger parent to child relationships. It can also reduce conflict and mitigate the negative effects of separation. The children I have been fortunate enough to meet, have been bright, interesting and interested, more aware of what was happening between their parents then they realised, creative in their ideas, and clear in what they wanted their parents to hear from them.
With the evidence pointing so clearly in this direction, embedding the voice of the child more consistently across our processes should not remain aspirational. It should become standard practice.
Our team will actively support reforms that prioritise children’s welfare both in and out of court and contribute to the wider movement for change. As a firm, we will use our voice to promote a system that better supports families, reduces harm, and ensures children are the central consideration in separation. This includes championing higher standards of training and child-focused practice across the family law profession.
The report highlights that there are approximately 18,000 family law solicitors in England and Wales, yet far fewer mediators and Resolution members. That disparity is telling.
It would be wrong to assume that those outside Resolution do not share its values. But equally, membership often reflects a mindset, one that is open to change and committed to improving outcomes. The reality is that we still have a long way to go in embedding this approach across the profession. And questions of cost and accessibility to memberships and training should not be overlooked. If we want widespread adoption, we must ensure that participation is achievable and affordable for firms of all shapes and sizes.
The report also highlights the different regulatory frameworks across the profession. For families, this can be confusing. There is currently a lack of clarity around who is regulated, what that means, and the level of training and supervision that sits behind different professionals. If we are encouraging families to work in a more constructive way, they need to be able to make informed choices about who they engage with. Greater clarity and consistency in this area would be a significant step forward.
The report’s analysis of the legislative framework highlights the need for greater consistency. More children are now growing up in unmarried families than married ones, yet the law does not always reflect a unified approach to their welfare. All children are equal, regardless of the status of their parents. The law should reflect that.
The report’s call for a more humane and relational approach resonates strongly. Kindness is often underestimated in this context. It is not easy, particularly at a time of emotional strain, but where it is present, it changes the tone of conversations and the quality of decisions. In that sense, kindness is not a soft option. It is a powerful one.
It is genuinely heartening to see the clarity of thinking within this report, and to recognise how many committed professionals are already driving change within the profession. The work that has gone into producing this report by so many in our profession is genuinely impressive, and I feel fortunate to work in an area in which so many people are committed to evolving and doing better for the families we work with.
There is a growing movement towards working differently: placing children at the centre, reducing conflict, and supporting families to build better futures.
At Family Law Partners, that is not a new direction. It is who we are. But this report challenges all of us to go further, and to use our voice and our practice to shape a system that genuinely puts children first.
If that continues across the profession, the impact will be significant, not only for the families we work with today, but for the generations that follow. There can be no more important focus for family law than this. Thank you to all who gave their time to produce such an important report.
Putting Children First: The Evolving Role of the Family Law Professional