Children and young people feedback line: 0808 175 3333
Cafcass sponsors and supports the Family Justice Young People’s Board by funding its activities, providing administrative guidance, and enabling its members to contribute independently to the development of the family justice system. The FJYPB operates with independence in its decision-making and advocacy work, while Cafcass provides the necessary resources and support to facilitate the Board's mission of improving family justice for children and young people.
We are the Family Justice Young People’s Board (FJYPB). We are a group of over 65 children and young people aged between seven and 25 years old who live across England and Wales. All our members have had lived experience of the family justice system.
The FJYPB works with a range of family justice organisations and agencies. These include, but are not limited to:
Our overall aim is to support the work of the Family Justice Board to deliver improvements to the family justice system so that it provides the best experience and outcomes for children who come into contact with it. As the voice of children and young people within this strategic framework, we ensure that our lived experience directly informs high-level decision-making and policy development.
The Family Justice Board is the overarching strategic body responsible for coordinating improvements across the family justice system in England and Wales. It brings together senior leaders from key organisations including the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, Cafcass, and other agencies to drive reform and ensure the system works effectively for families and children. The Board focuses on making strategic decisions about policy, practice, and service delivery across the entire family justice landscape.
We work hard to help ensure that the work of the Family Justice Board is child-centred and child-inclusive. We do this by participating in all its meetings to enable young people to have a direct say in its work. Our contributions to the Family Justice Board help shape its priorities, influence its strategic direction and ensure that the perspectives of children and young people are embedded in all major decisions about family justice reform. Through our participation, we bring real-world insights about what works and what doesn't work for children, helping the Board understand the impact of proposed changes before they are implemented. In doing this, we work closely with other young people's groups and stakeholders within family justice.
The vision of the Family Justice Young People's Board is to realise a family justice system where children and young people are at the heart of every decision. We want a system that always works to get the best outcomes for the children and young people it supports. Our approach to delivering this vision is based around the following key processes that underpin our work:
- We value lived experience:
As children and young people, we are empowered to influence and improve the family justice system by using and applying our lived experience as a transformative tool.
- We build on our expertise:
Since 2011, the FJYPB has shown how powerful young people's ideas can be. We share what we’ve learned to help others improve their work and outcomes.
- We are stronger together:
We work with others to make sure children and young people—especially those who are rarely heard—are listened to and involved in decisions. We help shape policies, laws, services and research, together.
Every three years, we set out key priorities for our work. This helps us to focus on what we think is of most importance to children and young people over the long term and what we can do to help support professionals to achieve this. Setting these ambitious priorities also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the work we have done and the impact that the FJYPB have had across the family justice system.
“I really enjoy being a member of the FJYPB. It is really fun and amazing. It has so many rewards and we have the privilege of working with some really awesome people. I stand tall and proud as a member of the FJYPB and I feel united with fellow members at getting our voices heard. It’s amazing to see our voices and the voices of other children having an impact on key services for children and young people. We are helping to change our futures and how children are both seen and heard.”
— FJYPB member, aged 15
“Being part of the FJYPB is a brilliant, amazing and awesome opportunity. I take part in lots of interesting projects representing and making sure the child’s voice is heard. It’s a very rewarding role and is a fabulous and fun opportunity.”
— FJYPB member, aged 8
Our work specifically promotes the voice of children and young people that experience family court proceedings, including those children and young people who have been directly involved in family court matters. We do this by actively taking part in various meetings, projects and events, and working together with various agencies and organisations to influence the direction of policy to make positive impact. Below are a few examples of what we do in practice.
As FJYPB members, we bravely share our experiences and key messages to professionals to highlight the areas where improvement is needed. Our powerful testimonies help professionals understand what it's really like to be a child going through family court proceedings. Some of our members’ experiences also feature in our insightful book called ‘In Our Shoes,’ featuring authentic first-hand accounts of children and young people’s journeys through family court proceedings. This book also includes thoughtful reflections for practitioners to learn from and consider in their own work.
We deliver presentations and targeted, interactive workshops to help professionals better understand and work with children and young people. Our training sessions cover topics such as effective communication with children and practical tips for making court processes less intimidating. We work with Cafcass Family Court Advisers (FCAs), social workers, judges, magistrates, and other professionals across the family justice system.
As members of the FJYPB, we regularly participate in interview panels to recruit new members of staff for Cafcass, including Family Court Advisers and senior managers. Our involvement ensures that candidates demonstrate the right attitudes and skills for working effectively with children and young people. We ask questions about how candidates would communicate with children to ensure they feel heard throughout proceedings.
We also take part in funded research projects. Our members will share views and opinions for targeted consultations on topics ranging from court procedures to policy changes affecting children's welfare. Our contributions ensure that policy makers and researchers have access to authentic insights from those with lived experience of the system.
The FJYPB is also involved with policy development for various organisations and agencies. Our input helps ensure that new policies are practical, accessible to all and based on a real-world understanding of what children need.
As part of our work to improve family justice proceedings for the better, we have also developed a range of useful resources that social work and family justice professionals can use to deliver more child-focused services and practices in family court proceedings, which include:
We have put together a very useful glossary explaining some of the words and phrases which children and young people may hear during a family court case and may have difficulty understanding.
Additionally, we have created a helpful ‘Practitioner guide for arranging safe family time,’ reflecting on our lived experiences and sharing with you what helps children and young people to feel safe and secure. It also details important things we would like you to consider when recommending and planning children and young people’s time with family members as part of family court proceedings.
We’ve also put together a list of words and phrases that we would like to encourage all professionals to stop using when they are speaking to young people and children and when they refer to them in their reports, on file and to other professionals. It’s important to ‘Mind your language!’
We’ve developed a range of FJYPB top tips aimed specifically at professionals working with children and young people in family justice proceedings.
In addition, we are currently developing more top tips focusing on the following key areas:
Last, but not least, our annual Voice of the Child conference is completely led, organised, and run by our members, with an audience of over 900 delegates including senior figures and family justice professionals. It provides a fantastic opportunity for wider family justice professionals to interact with and learn from our board members and fellow attendees to discuss how to implement best practice when working with children and young people in family justice settings.
