Category Archives: News

Finally, we are able to announce the winners of the poetry competition, thank you for bearing with us.

A huge thank you to everyone who entered and also to our three judges Helen Andrews, court manager, Elinor Bagenal from Chicken House books & the Honourable Mr Justice Baker.

The top 3 in each category are listed below and the winning poems are also set out in full below.

Poems written by children

Winner: Melanie McCabe – Two Roads
Second: Igi Waugaman Reed – My Mummy is a lawyer
Third: Jamie Houlden-Soan – Stars

Poems written by adults

Winner: Roger Zair – Family Outing
Second: Christopher Sharp – An Epiphany
Third: Dornford Roberts – One Hundred Ants

Two Roads by Melanie McCabe

I see two paths to old age; somewhere I do not want to go
But the beast chasing assures me that I cannot linger
I cannot turn back, I must go ever on
But on which path? The decision is eternal

One path is labelled ‘success’, one ‘failure’.
One is paved in gold, the other in mud.

Hearing the breath of the beast behind,
I see world-wide acclaim.
I see fame, glory, wealth.
I see a place in the history books.
I see me, admired and envied by all.
I see success.

Blinded by gold, I fail to notice the signs have been switched.

My feet aching from the hard metal underfoot,
I see working for a meaningless goal.
I see my comfort in cold metal and the mindless love of people who do not know me.
I see striving to please something that does not exist.
I see me, someone I do not admire or envy.
I see failure.

Family Outing by Roger Zair

We got to the station
in good time for the train,
heaved our suitcases
the length of the platform:
I must have been five.

Because we were early
we sat on a bench.
Porters shouting, engines shunting,
clanking and whistling and steam:
I didn’t mind waiting.

I’d eaten my sandwiches
when the tannoy announced
our train cancelled, a breakdown.
So we all came home with our cases:
and I asked if we could do that again.

This area is taking part in a pilot of Settlement Conferences in public law (care) cases. It will run until October. Settlement Conferences can take place only where all parties agree.

You can read guidance for professionals, for parties, and download the data collection form below :

Guidance for parties FINAL

LAA guidance FINAL

Settlement Conferences Data Collection Form

A public debate will be held on 21 July 2016 at the Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre

The motion will be : ‘Our child protection system is too risk averse’

The debate will be chaired by HHJ Stephen Wildblood QC with the kind permission of the President of the Family Division. It has been heavily supported by UWE.

The debate will take place between 4.30 p.m. and 6.10 p.m. in Court 17 at the Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre, 2 Redcliff Street, Bristol. BS1 6GR

Speaking in favour of the motion (that our child protection system is too risk averse) will be Anthony Douglas, The Chief Executive of Cafcass and Dave Hill, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services. Speaking against the motion will be Susan Jacklin QC. There will be a panel of experts who, also, will speak briefly in relation to the motion and then questions and points of view will be sought from the audience.

There is no charge for this event however there are clear ground rules in relation to it which are available here and which will be made available to each person attending.

If you would like to attend please book here. There are limited places available so you are advised to book early. If you do book a place and cannot attend please email or arrange for a substitute to take your place.

A huge thank you for submitting entries of your own or on behalf of others for the competition.

The (extended) closing date was 30 April and the next step is to present the poems to our judges. All the entries will be redacted so the judging is anonymous.

The judging panel comprises:

Helen Andrews – Operations Manager at the Bristol Civil & Family Justice Centre
The Hon Mr Justice Baker – Family Division Liaison judge for the Western Circuit
Elinor Bagenal – Rights Director at Chicken House Books

We hope to be able to announce the winners in early June.

Thank you all again for your poems, we had a great response.

Free Family Law Session 20th January 2016

Wednesday 20th January 2016
6.30pm – 8.00pm (tea/ coffee from 6.00pm)

Venue: University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol, BS16 1QY (easily accessible by road, rail and bus)

Following the success of the first free family law session at the Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre in October of last year, a second free Bristol family law session is planned to take place on Wednesday 20 January 2016 from 18:00-20:00 at the University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol.

The event is aimed at anyone interested in finding out more about the Family Court, all professionals working in the field of family law, journalists and students.

Join HHJ Stephen Wildblood QC, designated family judge for the Bristol area, and a panel of experts to hear about the work of the Family Court and what to do if you are faced with a personal or family disagreement.

Following feedback from the first event, new topics and speakers have been added and the question and answer session will be extended to promote further debate.

The topics covered will include:

• How to access help and support if faced with a personal or family disagreement
• The role and work of the Social Worker
• The role and work of the Guardian
• How decisions are made about children

You will have an opportunity to ask questions about the practice of the Family Court. The panel of experts will include:

• HHJ Stephen Wildblood QC, Designated Family Judge
• Sarah Stott, Cafcass
• Patrick Moreno, Senior Lecturer at UWE, specialising in children’s social work
• Louise Tickle, Journalist
• Judi Evans, Barrister, St John’s Chambers
• Lucy Reed, St John’s Chambers
• Sarah Phillimore, St John’s Chambers
• Zahid Hussain, Barrister, St John’s Chambers
• Emma Whewell, Senior Lecturer in Law, UWE

Register now

You may apply for a place here.

Registration and refreshments will be available from 18:00. The event will start at 18:30 and finish at 20:00.

For more information visit www.familycourtinfo.org.uk; the site is aimed at people who are involved in or may be involved in a case in the Family Court in this area (Bristol, Weston, Gloucester and Bath). It sets out the range of help that is available locally, and provides basic information about how the Family Court works.

Information about parking etc is on the UWE site.

Cost: Free
Contact: Emma Whewell
Telephone: +44 (0)117 328 3897
E-mail: emma.whewell@uwe.ac.uk

Where somebody applies for a non-molestation or occupation order (domestic violence injunction) but they don’t have a lawyer, the court bailiffs will usually serve the order on the person who it relates to on their behalf. The bailiffs at Bristol ask if you can provide a photograph when you come to court to help them identify the person they are trying to serve. An injunction is not effective until it is served.

The Family Delivery Manager at Bristol Civil & Family Justice Centre (dealing with Bath, Bristol and Weston) asks that in any correspondence with the court you should please quote

• your case number,
• the name of the Judge dealing with your case,
• any future hearing date or deadline.

Please put all of this information in the subject line of any e-mail or any correspondence you send to the court.

This will enable the court to prioritise correspondence appropriately and ensure it gets to the right Judge.
The only e-mail address which should be used is family@bristol.countycourt.gsi.gov.uk.