Planning Together for Children is a resource for parents and carers involved in private law family court proceedings to help them focus on putting children first when making arrangements to share parenting responsibilities. Planning Together for Children replaced the Separated Parents Information Programme (SPIP) on 3rd April 2023.
It is a new course and set of resources for parents to help them think about how to prioritise their children’s needs whilst they are separating.
Planning Together for Children combines e-learning, group work and online support. The Planning Together for Children encourages parents to consider how they can communicate and work together to agree parenting arrangements without the need for more court hearings and to understand how conflict can worry their children and impact on their wellbeing and development.
Unlike the Separated Parents Information Programme (SPIP), which was a one-off 4 hour course, there are three stages to the hybrid model of Planning Together for Children:-
- A set of self-directed e-learning modules that focus on topics such as what happens if parents go to court, understanding and managing emotion and looking at things from a child’s point of view.
- A group workshop where parents would be encouraged to discuss, think about and extend their learning from the e-learning modules.
- A supplementary online parenting plan to help parents to make agreements about important parts of their co-parenting relationship and the arrangements for their children where this is safe for the children and adults. Parents will be encouraged to share an understandable version of the plan with their child/children.
The new programme aims to reduce the time families spend in family court proceedings and to lower the number of families returning to court.
Planning Together for Children can either be ordered by a court or referred by a Cafcass family court advisor at any stage of the court proceedings as long as the right risk assessment is in place and there is no known risk of harm to any child involved.
The online parenting plan is available without the need for a referral on the Cafcass website. The interactive plan allows separating parents to agree arrangements for their children online and then to consider how they will discuss them with their children.
The breakdown of a relationship can have a huge impact on parents and children and we at RJT Solicitors seek to assist our clients reach an amicable agreement in relation to child arrangements wherever possible in a non-confrontational manner. If you require advice or assistance in relation to any children matters you should not hesitate to contact us for a free 30 minute consultation on 01257 228027 or by email rachel@rjtsolicitors.co.uk
