Thousands of children will receive greater support as the government pledges millions to improve the family courts following the success of the Pathfinder pilot. More children, families and victims of domestic abuse will all be spared from the distress of going to court as the innovative Pathfinder pilot is expanded.

The Pathfinder pilot launched in Dorset and North Wales in February 2022. Following its initial successes, it was then expanded to South East Wales in April 2024, then to Birmingham in May 2024.

The Pathfinder pilot was designed to encourage greater collaboration between local authorities, police and support services. By enabling more effective information sharing, children were spared from having to attend what were likely to be intimidating hearings. The pilot was also used to equally good effect to protect the victims of domestic abuse from having to face their abusers in a court room setting.

New figures published earlier this month have categorically shown Pathfinder has worked. Cases are being resolved 11 weeks quicker and the backlog of cases had reduced by almost 50% in Dorset and North Wales, the first regions the pilot was run in.

How does Pathfinder ensure children receive greater support from the family courts?

The standard process that exists across most family courts in England involves CAFCASS or CAFCASS Cymru in Wales undertaking initial safeguarding enquiries. They then send a safeguarding letter to the court within 3 to 4 weeks of receiving the case which is followed by a First Hearing and Dispute Resolution Appointment.

However, at this point the information available is quite limited and if further information is needed, the court will adjourn while it is collated. This draws out the process.
With the Pathfinder approach, the focus switches to gathering all the required information as early as possible.

If they are already involved, CAFCASS/CAFCASS Cymru or Children’s services undertake a Child Impact Assessment in conjunction with the police, local authorities or domestic abuse agencies within a 6-week period. In week 7 the court uses the information gathered to decide what needs to happen next for that family in terms of hearings. Where possible this will involve exploring alternative dispute resolution options in a bid to prevent the families from having to attend court at all.

Another of the differentiators of the Pathfinder model is that it seeks to involve children from the start, giving them the opportunity to participate in proceedings in a way they will be comfortable with.

What have we learned from the Pathfinder trial?

The data published at the beginning of February 2025 shows that during the pilot, the average case length reduced by from 29 weeks to 18 weeks in North Wales and from 38 weeks to 27 weeks in Dorset. In addition, the number of open cases halved from 478 to 202 in North Wales and 511 to 246 in Dorset.

Aside from these figures it has also become evident that the Pathfinder model has achieved its aim of helping the family court to break down the historic barriers and pull the various services involved closer together, enabling the court to identify any associated welfare issues more quickly and refer the issues to the relevant partners.

Moreover, the multi-agency approach has also made it easier to bring specialist independent advocates (IDVAs) into the courtroom to support the welfare of vulnerable survivors during proceedings.

As a result, Pathfinder will now launch in Mid and West Wales on 3 March, and in West Yorkshire on 3 June. The family mediation voucher scheme will also be extended until March 2026, receiving a £12.5 million funding boost. The voucher scheme offers couples £500 to help them settle their issues before they get to court. To date it has helped over 37,700 families to date and it’s estimated that 70% of recipients have come to a full or partial agreement thanks to mediation.

More importantly, since the scheme launched in April 2021, the number of applications being made to court dropped by 5000 a year between 2020 and 2023. This has saved taxpayers millions of pounds and has reduced some of the strain on the hugely stretched family court system.

The announcement has received the full support of Lord Ponsonby, the Minister for Family Justice:

“For too long families have been pitted against each other in the court room, or abusers have hijacked proceedings to continue campaigns of cruelty. Children and vulnerable people bear the brunt of this, and it must stop. Pathfinder has been welcomed as a less adversarial approach, and early evidence shows it’s working. This is another important step to achieving our promise of halving violence against women and girls.”

Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs was equally supportive:

“Improving the Family Court is a key priority for my office. It is clear to me that Pathfinder Courts recognise the impact of domestic abuse and consider children’s needs much earlier than in the traditional Family Court. I believe this approach is essential to ensuring the protection of victims in the family justice system. I welcome Government’s commitment to this pilot and look forward to seeing its influence on all Family Courts.”

If you are involved in a case involving children and would like to discuss the best way forward with our experienced family barristers, please contact us today.