This page hosts a series of practical resources, such as templates, tools and practice guidance which will be of interest to anyone working in the family justice system.

Many of these resources have been produced by sub-groups made up of sector representatives involved with the President of the Family Division’s Public Law Working Group and do not belong to ADCS.

This collection of resources is offered as a single point of reference for practitioners working in the family justice system, particularly local authority social workers, court advisors and legal staff.

New resources or tools developed by individual local authorities or via regional collaboration always welcome to benefit the wider sector, please contact info@adcs.org.uk, thank you.

Relevant reports and background reading

• Final report of the President’s Public Law Working Group (March 2021)
• Final report of the President’s Private Law Working Group (April 2020)
• The Family Justice Board’s recovery and reform priorities for the system (December 2020)
• Recovery report from the Public Law Advisory Group (December 2020)
• Recovery report from the Private Law Advisory Group (December 2020)

Resources from the Public Law Working Group’s final report

• NEW: Top 10 tips on use of the PLO document
• Best practice guidance (BPG) on Special Guardianship Orders and a presentation on the highlights of the SGO guidance to support local implementation and use
• BPG on work with families prior to court and a presentation on the highlights of the pre-proceedings guidance
• BPG on the application and case management and presentations summarising the application guidance and case management guidance
• BPG the use of Section 20 / Section 76 accommodation and a presentation on the highlights of the S20/S76 guidance
• The LA reps on the PLWG’s training and implementation sub-group have drawn up an audit tool for LAs to use to benchmark local services and systems against the recommendations and reforms set out in the PLWG final report, a Microsoft Word version can be found here
• The Judicial College supported the development of three videos about the best practice guides to support local training and development efforts
• Top tips for professionals from the Cafcass Family Justice Young People’s Board (various)
• Family Rights Group Charter
• A parent’s perspective on the standard template for a letter before proceedings
• Social Work Evidence Template (SWET).

UPDATED: Related resources developed by the sector

• NEW: Briefing and compliance resources on medical information considered by ADM in adoption
• Essex County Council’s PLO audit tool
• ADCS and Cafcass Section 7 policy
• Pan-Sussex Section 7 Template: Resource pack | template
• 2013 protocol on disclosure of information in linked criminal and family court proceedings
• Section 20 practice guidance
• Good practice guidance for adoption agencies and Cafcass: Children relinquished for adoption

Other resources

• The Family Justice Observatory’s resource hub
• DfE funded RiP family justice resource hub focused on pre-proceedings
• Research in Practice produce regular case law and legal summaries
• The Cafcass FJYPB have developed a series of top tips for professionals working with children
• Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: Disclosure of Information between Family and Criminal Agencies and Jurisdictions: 2024 Protocol.