[Solved] can ou explain what it means?

... They are going to want you to sit down together and try and reach an agreement without the neccessity of a full blown court case. Dont refuse this but be clear what you want to achieve...you dont have to agree to anything that you dont want to. You can make an offer of supervised contact at a contact centre at this point, but as she is asking for custody I cant see that she would agree to this. Besides due to her history you want reports to be ordered. If they ask why you want supervised contact at a contact centre, you would tell them that she has a history of serious mental health issues, she wouldnt have been on the top tier of DLA otherwise...and also the fact that there has been no contact for a long period of time and not even an attempt to make contact or ask how the baby is. You could also talk about there being bonding issues between the mother and child and the fact that the baby doesn't know her. Supervised contact would provide monitoring of them together, and written reports of their contact would help the court and you to know the best way forward whilst protecting the child in the short term.

If you dont come to any agreement you will then go into court and discuss the way forward and the direction the case should go in. Hence why its called a Directions Hearing. It should be at this point that the judge can order reports to be done and arrange interim contact until the next hearing.

Will your mum be going with you tomorrow? it would help if you had some support and she may be able to sit in on the CAFCASS meeting with you, I say may because I've heard of cases where its been allowed and cases where it hasnt been. For instance at my sons Directions Hearing last month, I was allowed to sit in on the meeting between my son and her solicitor. She wont be allowed into the courtroom though, thasts a definate.

I would still try and ask for a postponement tomorrow though.

Best of luck, I shall be thinking about you all tomorrow so dont forget to come by the forum and let us know how you got on 🙂

they have given 21 may for the next hearing,it was awful as there was 10 of them and my perants took some abuse,But the court usher was brill and told them to button it.He even esorted us to our car.The court hearing ws daunting though,as her solicitor was so arrogant.to be honest i dont know what happens now.my heads gone ,but i have baby and they agreed to a cotnact centre not one to one but mixed familys.didnt realy understand.but we were in court for 3 quarters of an hour,all my ex kept saying was that i was a pathological lier..Her solicitor said 2 police reports had been made on my violence towards her.but she admitted this was not the case.Got to admit it was the most stressful day of my life.Only because i felt vulnerable.Not having a solicitor,but everything he asked for i did too.but included an alcohol test..a big thank you nanny jane,first hurdle is over

Well done Ianandrew 🙂

The whole situation is so emotionally draining, I know, but as you say the first hurdle is over and you still have your baby with you.

It might be a good idea to write a letter to the court about the abuse and harrassment you and your parents were subjected to by her "entourage". Offer praise for the usher that supported you but request that for future hearings you would like a seperate room made available to you and your parents so that you dont have to suffer this again.... the situation is hard enough without that kind of pressure.

Request an appointment with your solicitor ASAP so that you can talk through what happened, he will be able to advise you about a Contact Centre. I think as you are the Resident parent that you should have control as in where and when. Here is a link to the NACCC. This stands for National Association of Child Contact Centres, and you will find a search facility on there to find a centre that is near to where you live. They have a helpline too so it wouldnt hurt to give them a ring.... Try and maintain control over yours and your babys situation and dont forget you are the parent with care.

www.naccc.org.uk

Hopefully you will be legally represented next time you are in court and you will have a seperate waiting room so that you dont have to put up with any more abuse.

will do all you say,thanks