If there was no police involvement at the time, there will be no record and therefore there will be no effect. If the police were called and spoke to you about the argument with your neighbour, there may be a written record... to be honest I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
There should be a telephone contact number on the letter you received, and probably the name of the cafcass officer that will be doing the report. There’s nothing to stop you giving them a call to ask for more information about the interview, you can ask if they will see you with your child, to give them a better idea of the bond between you both, this is called an observational visit. If they say no to that, I wouldn't be too pushy about it, but at the interview you can ask if they would be willing to recommend supervised contacting their report and at the next hearing, to allow the court to be better informed about the close relationship your child has with you.
When you ask if they wish to see the video you have of your ex, you can tell them that she is aware that she was being recorded at the time. It’s a grey area and they may not want to see it.
Just to add, here’s a link to the contact centre website, you could get information about centres in your area, find out if there is a waiting list and what the charges might be. If you have this information ready for your interview, it might be helpful for the cafcass officer to have the information when preparing the report.
www.naccc.org.uk
Dear Mojo,
Thank you so much once again. On both occasions police were called. They came spoke to me and my ex wife both time and went. We did not hear anything after that. Now my ex wife stated in her statement that I was shouting to them and I was verbally aggressive. It's funny that she did not say this at that time. Do you think the records of these verbal arguments will impact on my case? Plus I will look into contact centres and have the information ready for Cafcass officer. Yes there is a contact number and the name of Cafcass officer. I will contact him tomorrow.
Kind Regards
HI there,
One more thing I would like ask. I am thinking of doing Parenting course. Some websites are charging almost 2k to do that. My friend told me that there is a SPIP course which is around £100. I have been told that if Cafcass recommend then its free. Should I request Cafcass for that course? Would me offering this course look better in their eyes or would this means that I am admitting that I am not a good dad?
Kind Regards
Taking parenting courses is a good thing and won’t be looked at badly. If you wanted to request that I’m sure it would be fine. Perhaps you could suggest that both of you would benefit from it. The course addresses the negative impact that parental conflict can cause to a child.
Concerning the argument with neighbours, just be open and honest about it... you could mention that there was no action and the police spoke to both of you at the time.
Hi Mojo,
My next DRA hearing is not till June and I haven't seen my daughter since January. It will be at least 6-7 months before I see my daughter. She was only 19 months old. If supervised visit granted in next hearing, I'm worried that she won't recognise me. What should I do? Cafcass officer is coming to do sec 7 report in next couple of weeks. Can I request him to arrange supervise visit ASAP? Plus I would also like to ask that when my relationship broke down with my wife she made CAO application to the court for our daughter to live with her. It is her application. Do I have to make an application separately? In court order the Judge ask cafcass to give their recommendations about how much time Father should spend with the child. In my Safeguarding interview cafcass ask asked me if I wanted to make a verbal application to see my child, which I've said yes on shared custody basis. Is this enough? Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind Regards
Hi there
If your ex has a solicitor you could write to them and ask if their client would agree to supervised contact in a contact centre, to commence in the interim.
You can ask CAFCASS about interim contact, but I doubt they would agree to arrange it themselves, although they may agree to speak to your ex about it. There’s no harm in asking though.
As you were asked to give a verbal application, that should be enough, the Section 7 will be looking at your situation regarding re establishing contact, so I think the court are already looking at contact between you and your child.
Best of luck
Hi Mojo,
Thanks for your replay. I have asked my ex wife's solicitor to arrange a supervise contact but they said that in Safeguarding interview cafcass said no contact in interim thats why they are not agreeing. I am just worried that as the time passes my daughter will forget me.
Kind Regards
If you had a close relationship with your little one, I doubt she will forget you! She may be a little quiet at first, but in my experience that won’t last long.
It’s a common worry for Dads that haven’t seen their children for a while, especially when they’re young, but once reunited they’re back to normal in no time at all.
Hi Mojo,
Thank you so much for your replay. Honestly you have been a great help in this tough time.
Kind Regards
Arman, stay strong. if you have no police record or nothing from social services, then you should be fine. its common to hear a load of nonsense in the section 7 report process. stay calm, and just deny any false allegations. cafcass will quickly realise which parent is child-focused, and which one is hostile. just tell them your only interested in seeing your children.
HI there,
One more thing I would like ask. I am thinking of doing Parenting course. Some websites are charging almost 2k to do that. My friend told me that there is a SPIP course which is around £100. I have been told that if Cafcass recommend then its free. Should I request Cafcass for that course? Would me offering this course look better in their eyes or would this means that I am admitting that I am not a good dad?
Kind Regards
at my FHDRA and S7 report, it said both parents should take the SPIP course. and it was referred by cafcass so its free. hopefully they should recommend to you.