The path to paradise or the road to ruin? The Pathfinder pilot in Children Act cases

Court proceedings involving arrangements for children are inherently among the most emotionally intense legal proceedings a person can face. The failings of the current adversarial court process often compound the harm caused to families involved in these proceedings, in particular for victims of domestic abuse. Simultaneously, the courts are contending with what Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, referred to as an “unprecedented and unsustainable volume of public and private children law cases”.

Against this background, in 2022, Practice Direction 36Z of the Family Procedure Rules introduced the Pathfinder pilot, a new procedure for private children law proceedings that aims to pave the way to a better and more efficient family court experience and to increase the participation of children in the court process. Particular emphasis is placed on improving the experience of survivors of domestic abuse in light of the stress and re-traumatisation that contested court proceedings can lead to.

Pathfinder seeks to create a more efficient court process with fewer delays by front-loading much of the investigative work through the production of a Child Impact Report (CIR) and introducing a multi-agency approach at this initial stage to improve coordination between the court and the many agencies it relies on to conduct safeguarding enquiries. The CIR will also cover discussions with the parties and the child, where appropriate. It can also encompass reports from agencies such as schools and GPs, other evidence relevant to the case, and where domestic abuse is a feature, domestic abuse risk assessments. The CIR aids decisions as to allocation and what further information and directions are required to progress the application.

“The purpose of this Stage is to take a proportionate, child welfare focussed approach to actively investigate the impact of issues presented in the application… on the child” – PD36Z, Annex, para 12.1 

During the second stage, there are two main pathways available. Cases that require further activities/directions/information will be assigned to the Case Management Path. If no further activities are necessary to enable the matter to proceed to Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) or a Decision Hearing, the case may be allocated to the Adjudication Path.

The investigative, front-loaded approach of Pathfinder represents a significant departure from its adversarial predecessor, the Child Arrangements Programme (CAP), which can involve numerous attended court hearings over a period of 3 years or more.

On 27 March 2025, the Ministry of Justice published an Evaluation Report on the Pathfinder pilot, drawing on the experiences of practitioners delivering the pilot. It found that overall, Pathfinder “delivers a better experience for children and families and a more efficient court process”. The CIR was lauded as “an intrinsic and positive change in Pathfinder”. Improved early information-gathering and more effective cross-agency collaboration led to better information before the court, which in turn lead to better safety planning, fewer hearings and better and more enduring outcomes for families. Faster resolution of cases and fewer hearings was felt to reduce both the re-traumatisation of survivors of domestic abuse and the ability of abusers to use court proceedings to perpetrate further abuse. It was reported that survivors felt better supported throughout the process, by the involvement of domestic abuse support services and better risk assessments. 

Greater involvement of children at an earlier stage helped parents focus on “the right issues” and at the same time made children feel included and engaged in the process. However, the Evaluation Report also noted challenges in centring the voice of the child appropriately. Getting the balance right is hard as some felt that children did not need to be seen in cases involving low risk, while others noted that in more complex cases, seeking the child’s views risked further harm or trauma to that child. 

Naturally, there have been challenges in moving from one system to a quite different alternative, and this has been complicated by difficulties in managing a significant backlog of legacy cases under the CAP. Resourcing and staff capacity are a continuing issue in the family justice system, and Pathfinder highlighted similar challenges for domestic abuse support agencies, who take a much more prominent role under Pathfinder than under the CAP. The Pathfinder model has itself been revised by the removal in December 2024 of a review stage set 3-12 months from the final order. Amongst other criticisms, the Evaluation Report found that these reviews were used inconsistently, and their purpose and parameters were poorly defined. The MoJ’s recent Delivery Update suggests a revised review stage may be introduced in the future to support families after a final order.

The Pathfinder pilot sets out a series of ambitious reforms in pursuit of a series of noble aims. Lessons learned in the recent Evaluation Report about implementation of the pilot demonstrate a clear commitment to improving the family justice system as it prepares to expand to West Yorkshire, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Stoke-on-Trent and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight over the next 12 months. It appears that, once working, Pathfinder meets a lot of its aims – at least from the perspective of those delivering the scheme. Whether families experiencing the family courts agree with these reported benefits will be the true test as to whether the right path has indeed been found.