Family court: Pathfinder pilot to support abuse victims extended

When parents have separated, and cannot agree how to share their caring responsibilities, they turn to the family court.

The family court can have a huge impact on a family’s life, as the judge can decide who the children will live with, how their holidays are organised, as well as issues such as where the children go to school.

Pathfinder tries to resolve problems between parents sooner, and place more emphasis on hearing children’s voices, where appropriate, earlier in the process.

In 2022, north Wales and Dorset were the first courts to use the scheme and in May 2024 it was extended to Birmingham and South East Wales.

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that the time taken to take a case through the system reduced from 29 weeks on average to 18 weeks in north Wales.

From March 2025, Wales will become the first country to be wholly using the Pathfinder Pilot for all private children proceedings, and it is being extended in England to West Yorkshire in June.

Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said: “I believe this approach is essential to ensuring the protection of victims in the family justice system. I welcome the government’s commitment to this pilot and look forward to seeing its influence on all family courts.”