Family Law Insights

Before Christmas: what rising private law demand means for children caught in proceedings

October 26, 2026

As October draws to a close, every family practitioner knows the calls that come next. Parents who got through the summer holidays without agreement start worrying about December. Contested arrangements that felt manageable in September look very different with Christmas eight weeks away. And the advice is always the same: if something needs to happen before the holidays, it needs to start now.

This year that conversation is happening against a sharper backdrop. Private law demand is rising faster than it has in a decade. The rules on who can give psychological evidence have changed. A Bill that rewrites a core principle of the Children Act reaches the House of Lords this week. And new analysis published on 19 October shows just how long children are waiting for mental health support. All of it points the same way: psychological support for the child needs to start earlier in proceedings than it usually does.

Private law demand is still climbing

Cafcass received 21,725 new private law cases between April and September 2026, up 9.1% on the same six months last year. At the end of September it held 17,096 open private law cases involving 25,756 children, an increase of 6.4% year on year.

That follows a year in which private law applications to Cafcass rose 8.2%, and in which the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory described 2025 as the steepest rise in private law applications in a decade. The Ministry of Justice’s latest quarterly figures, published on 24 September, tell the same story from the court side: 14,833 new private law cases between April and June, up 11%.

Two other numbers from that release matter for anyone advising a parent. Private law cases took an average of 33 weeks to conclude, and in 51% of cases neither party had legal representation. The system is getting slightly quicker, but more families are going through it, and more of them are doing it alone.

The rules have moved towards the child

Three changes this year push in the same direction.

The presumption of parental involvement is on its way out. The Courts and Tribunals Bill would remove the presumption in section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989 that involvement of both parents furthers a child’s welfare. The Bill has completed its Commons stages and is due for second reading in the House of Lords on 27 October. Once in force, courts will weigh each child’s welfare without that starting assumption, which places more weight on understanding the individual child’s experience.

Regulated experts only, unless the court explains why. Since 20 July 2026, amendments to the Family Procedure Rules require judges to apply a regulation test whenever they consider appointing an expert. An unregulated expert can still be used where only their expertise will resolve the issue, or to avoid a delay that would harm the child, but the judge must record what was done to find a regulated alternative and give written reasons. Family Justice Council guidance on revisiting earlier cases is expected this autumn.

The Child Focused Model is going national. The model formerly known as the Private Law Pathfinder is live in 10 of 43 court areas, and the Government has committed £17 million for 2026/27 to extend it into the North East, North West and East Midlands, with full rollout planned over the next three years. Its central feature is a Child Impact Report prepared before the first hearing, which brings the child’s voice and any risk of harm to the front of the case rather than leaving it to a section 7 report months later.

Taken together, these changes mean children’s needs are being identified earlier, assessed more rigorously and weighed with fewer assumptions. What none of them does is provide the support those assessments recommend.

The school year adds to the pressure

There is a further factor this term. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, in force since 1 September, names self-harm and suicidal ideation as standalone safeguarding concerns for the first time. Concerns a school might have handled pastorally last year are now recorded by the designated safeguarding lead, and DSLs are asked to consider whether parents should be told.

For separated families, the consequence is clear. A recorded school concern about a child’s mental health is exactly the kind of information that surfaces in a C100, a safeguarding letter or a Child Impact Report. We covered the wider effect of the change in our September piece on referral pressure.

The queue those children are joining

On 19 October, The King’s Fund published analysis showing that, as of July 2026, 584,193 children in England were waiting for a community mental health assessment, care plan or intervention. More than half of them, 297,607 children, had been waiting for over a year. Almost a third, 175,846, had been waiting for more than two years.

Put that next to the court figure. An average private law case takes 33 weeks. For half of the children on the NHS waiting list, the wait is already longer than that. A child whose need is identified at the first hearing and referred to the NHS can reach the final hearing, and well beyond it, still waiting for support. The court makes decisions about the child’s future while the child’s present difficulty has not been touched.

The same analysis flagged a change that makes this harder to fix locally. The Mental Health Investment Standard no longer requires local health systems to grow spending on children’s mental health faster than overall mental health spending, removing a safeguard designed to address historical underinvestment. Children account for around 30% of demand for mental health and neurodevelopmental services but receive around 8% of mental health spending. There is still no national waiting time standard for children and young people’s mental health services.

Where support falls between the gaps

Therapeutic support in private law cases tends to sit in nobody’s budget. Legal aid funds representation and, in some cases, assessment, but not treatment. Cafcass assesses and recommends, but does not provide therapy. Schools may have a mental health support team, but coverage in special schools and alternative provision remains well below the national average. And when half of all cases involve no lawyer on either side, there is often nobody steering the family towards help at all.

The children most likely to fall into that gap are the ones practitioners will recognise: the child refusing to spend time with a parent, the child who has witnessed domestic abuse, the child moving between two homes with two sets of rules, the teenager whose school has just recorded a self-harm concern.

Three things worth doing before Christmas

1. Identify the children who need support now, not after the final hearing. Look at your open private law matters and ask a simple question: if this child needs therapeutic input, when will it actually start? Where the answer is “after the case ends”, there is still time to change that if you start this week.

2. Check registration for anyone you instruct or recommend. The July rule change applies to court-appointed experts, but the principle is a good one for any psychological input in proceedings. Ask whether the clinician is registered with the HCPC or on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, and what their experience with children and families is. See how we approach clinical governance.

3. Ask about first-session dates and what comes back. A provider who accepts a referral quickly but cannot see the child until January has not solved the problem. Ask when the first session will happen, whether it can be in person, and what you will receive in writing, with consent, about progress and outcomes. Our guide to reading a psychological report sets out what good looks like.

How Mind Right supports family law practitioners

Mind Right is a nationwide network of more than 1,000 clinicians, which means we can usually match a child or parent to the right specialist within days rather than months. Referrals are acknowledged within one working day and first sessions often take place within five to ten working days, in person or online. A referral made in the next few weeks can mean sessions are under way well before Christmas.

Our psychological services for children and families include family therapy, play therapy for children aged 4 to 11, trauma-focused CBT, EMDR, Theraplay, DDP and bereavement support. Every clinician is a member of their relevant governing or professional body, intake is available in more than 50 languages, and outcomes are measured using validated tools so progress can be evidenced rather than described.

We work with solicitors, parents and guardians to put support in place while proceedings run, not after they finish.

Frequently asked questions

Why are private law children’s cases rising? Cafcass private law demand rose 8.2% in 2025-26 and a further 9.1% in the first half of 2026-27. The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory describes the causes as likely to be multifaceted, citing financial pressure on families, reduced community support and changes in how separating parents seek advice.

How long do private law children’s cases take? According to Ministry of Justice figures published on 24 September 2026, private law cases concluded between April and June 2026 took an average of 33 weeks, and 52% were completed within 26 weeks.

How long are children waiting for NHS mental health support? According to The King’s Fund, as of July 2026, 584,193 children in England were waiting for community mental health support. 51% had waited more than a year and 30% more than two years.

Is the presumption of parental involvement being removed? The Courts and Tribunals Bill would remove the presumption in section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989. The Bill has passed the House of Commons and is due for second reading in the House of Lords on 27 October 2026.

What are the new rules on experts in family proceedings? Since 20 July 2026, the Family Procedure Rules require judges to consider whether a proposed expert is regulated. An unregulated expert can still be appointed where only their expertise will resolve the issue or to avoid harmful delay, but the court must give written reasons. Regulated includes statutory registers such as the HCPC and voluntary registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

What is the Child Focused Model? It is the new approach to private law children’s cases, formerly called the Private Law Pathfinder. It introduces a Child Impact Report before the first hearing and puts more emphasis on the child’s voice and early identification of harm. It is live in 10 of 43 court areas and is being rolled out nationally over the next three years.

Can a child start therapy while court proceedings are ongoing? In many cases, yes. Therapy usually requires the consent of those with parental responsibility, and where parents disagree it may need to be addressed within the proceedings. Families should take legal advice on their own circumstances. Starting support during proceedings means a child is not left waiting until the case concludes.

If you are advising families whose children need psychological support before Christmas, contact us to talk through how we can help, or make a referral directly.