The CAFCASS Safeguarding Interview

Before the First Hearing, CAFCASS runs basic safeguarding checks with the police and local authority, and then telephones each parent for a private, recorded conversation (usually 20–30 minutes). They write a Safeguarding Letter for the court — not a full welfare report. That comes later, if ordered.

• ✓Why you've applied (or why you're responding) and what outcome you want.
• ✓Your relationship history with the other parent and how it ended.
• ✓Any domestic abuse, controlling behaviour, or coercion — in either direction.
• ✓Substance misuse, mental health concerns, or police involvement on either side.
• ✓Each child's day-to-day routine, school, friends, health, and any additional needs.
• ✓Current contact arrangements and how handovers happen.
• ✓Whether the children have witnessed conflict, and how they've reacted.
• ✓Anyone else significant in the children's lives (new partners, grandparents, carers).

• ✓Have your C100 in front of you — your call must be consistent with what you've already written.
• ✓Make a short list of the specific arrangements you're proposing (term-time, weekends, holidays).
• ✓Write down 3–5 dated examples of any concerns — vague allegations carry far less weight than specifics.
• ✓Take the call somewhere quiet, with the children NOT in the room or within earshot.
• ✓Keep notes during the call: name of the officer, date, time, and what you said.

A few weeks before the FHDRA, CAFCASS files a letter with the court that summarises the checks, what each parent said, any risks identified, and (often) a recommendation about whether further work is needed — for example, a section 7 welfare report, a fact-finding hearing, or a referral to a domestic abuse programme.

You're entitled to a copy. Read it carefully before the hearing. If something is wrong, don't panic and don't email CAFCASS demanding a rewrite — note your response and raise it at the hearing.