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Family law guide
Part of: Section 47 Report Explained: What Happens During Section 47 Enquiries?
A section 37 report is an investigation into a child’s circumstances, carried out by the local authority’s children’s services, which the family court orders when it looks as though a care order or supervision order might be needed. The court orders it under section 37 of the Children Act 1989. The local authority must report back to the court within eight weeks unless the court sets a different deadline, and it must say whether it intends to apply for a care or supervision order, provide services or assistance to the family, or take some other action.
Being told the court has ordered a section 37 report is frightening. It is not an order to remove a child, and it is not a finding that a parent has done anything wrong. It means the court wants an independent look at the child’s circumstances before it decides what to do next. This guide explains who writes the report, what goes into it, how long it takes, what the possible outcomes are, and what a parent can do at each stage.
The Section 37 report relates specifically to the child concerned in the proceedings and is focused on assessing the child’s welfare. This report is usually ordered where the matters are complex, and the court is concerned with the welfare of the child during the family proceedings. Section 37 reports often involve input from children’s services to assess the child’s welfare and needs. Such a report may be required in matters concerning and child contact arrangements. Section 37 reports contain confidential information about the child, their parents, and other relevant individuals, and family proceedings are private with details not made available to the public.
A section 37 report is a detailed investigation ordered by the family court when it has concerns about a child’s welfare. By directing the local authority to investigate the child’s circumstances and report back, the court is asking whether further protective steps should be taken, including whether it should apply for a care order or a supervision order. You will also see it written as an s37 report, or called a section 37 investigation.
For parents, family members, and anyone involved in family court proceedings where child welfare is in issue, understanding a section 37 report matters because its findings can affect where a child lives, what decisions are made about their care, and how parental rights are exercised. This guide explains what a section 37 report is, who prepares it, why the court orders one, how the process works, how it differs from related reports, what legal consequences can follow, how a report can be challenged, and how it connects with orders such as an interim care order.
The court directs the local authority to carry out the investigation, and a qualified social worker employed by its children’s services department writes the report. Section 37(5) of the Children Act 1989 requires the court to name either the authority for the area where the child ordinarily lives, or the authority in whose area the circumstances behind the direction arose. Cafcass does not write section 37 reports: under section 7 a Cafcass officer can be asked for a welfare report, which is a different document answering a different question. Children’s services is the department most people still call social services, so a section 37 social services report and a section 37 report are the same document. The author of the report will be a qualified professional social worker with experience in dealing with children and families, although in some cases related assessments or reports may also involve independent social workers.
A section 37 in family court is the court’s own direction to the local authority to investigate a child’s circumstances. The purpose of reports such as section 7 and section 37 reports is to provide the family court with a complete picture of the child’s circumstances and welfare. These reports are vital in family proceedings, particularly when the court is considering whether to make a care or supervision order. The scope of these reports is broad, covering the child’s physical safety, emotional health, and psychological development, as well as the capacity of parents or carers to provide appropriate care. Social workers use the welfare checklist set out in the Children Act 1989 to guide their assessment of the child’s needs, safety, and welfare, ensuring that all relevant factors are considered. When there are concerns about significant harm, domestic violence, or the need for a child protection plan, the court may direct the local authority to investigate further and provide a detailed report, and good decision-making should follow best practice. This process helps the court determine whether support services, a supervision order, or a care order is necessary.
The social worker undertaking the report will be required to carry out a thorough assessment of the circumstances. As per section 37 of the Children Act 1989, they will need to consider the local authority’s responsibilities under section 37, including the following:
The local authority may also complete the relevant referral or assessment form to progress enquiries and record next steps.
As soon as the request for a section 37 report is obtained by the social worker, the legal department or the responsible person within the team should be informed of:
There is no published section 37 report example to look at: each report is written for the specific case and filed with the court, not published. What every one of them has to provide is this:
The report must also address whether the local authority should apply for a care or supervision order and provide reasons for their conclusions. It is important that before submitting the report to the court, the report is discussed with the manager of the social worker, as this reflects good practice before submission to the court. If there are any doubts about the recommendations that may be made to the court, the social worker should seek advice from the Legal Department.
A parent or the local authority cannot make an application for a section 37 report to the family court. Ultimately it is up to the family court as to whether it feels there is a need in child proceedings to make a direction for a report. However, the parties to child proceedings which include parents, or the local authority may suggest to the court that a section 37 report may be an appropriate course of action, but the court will confirm. There is no such thing as a section 37 court order: what the court makes is a direction to the local authority to investigate (section 37(1)), not an order under section 37.
Timings between steps 2 and 7 are how these investigations typically run rather than statutory deadlines; only the eight-week point in step 7 is fixed by the Act, and the court can vary it.
Once the court has directed for a report, the statutory timeline begins from the date of the court’s direction. The local authority is required to investigate the child’s circumstances and prepare a Section 37 report within eight weeks. The social worker must complete and submit this report to the court within eight weeks unless the court has agreed to an extension of the timescale.
In private law cases—such as disputes between parents or family members about where a child should live or who they should see—the court’s main focus remains the welfare of the child. The court may order a section 7 report, prepared by Cafcass or the local authority, to assess the child’s circumstances and make recommendations on issues like residence, contact, and other welfare matters. For example, this may help the court decide where a child lives or how time is shared between parents. Sometimes, the court may also consider making a prohibited steps order to prevent certain actions, or a family assistance order to provide additional support to the family. If concerns about the child’s welfare escalate, the court can direct the local authority to prepare a section 37 report, which may lead to care proceedings and the possibility of a care order or supervision order. Throughout this process, the court relies on the welfare checklist and the principles of the Children Act 1989 to ensure that every decision is made in the best interests of every child or young person whose welfare is before the court, with the aim of providing the right support and protection for the child and their family.
According to section 37 of the legislation the report must answer the primary question which is whether there is a need to apply for a care or supervision order with respect to the child. Whilst addressing this primary concern the report must also contain a conclusion as whether the children involved are suffering significant harm as per section 31.(2) of the Children Act 1989. This requires consideration of the nature of the harm and whether the harm suffered is attributable to:
If the social worker has decided against applying for a care or supervision order following its investigation then then they must also explain this in the report together with the reasons for the decision.
The section 37 report must also outline whether other services or support have, or will be offered to the family, as an alternative to legal intervention. Within the report the author must also inform the court if it is intending to review the case in the future, and if so when the review of the matter will take place.
No. They are ordered under different sections, written by different people, and answer different questions. This is the single most common point of confusion for parents.
| Section 7 report | Section 37 report | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Children Act 1989, s.7 | Children Act 1989, s.37 |
| Who writes it | A Cafcass officer, a Welsh family proceedings officer, or an officer the local authority arranges (s.7(1)) | The local authority named by the court — its children’s services department (s.37(5)) |
| Question it answers | What arrangements would be best for this child? It reports on the welfare matters the court asks it to cover | Should the local authority apply for a care or supervision order, offer services, or take other action? (s.37(2)) |
| What triggers it | The court needs more information about a child’s welfare to decide a private law application | It appears to the court that a care or supervision order may be appropriate (s.37(1)) |
| Deadline | Set by the court in its directions | Eight weeks from the direction, unless the court directs otherwise (s.37(4)) |
| Can it lead to an interim care order? | Not directly | Yes. A s.37 direction lets the court make an interim care or supervision order if satisfied of the s.31(2) grounds (s.38(1)(b), s.38(2)) |
In short: a section 7 report helps the court choose between arrangements. A section 37 report asks whether the state should step in at all. If you have been told a section 7 report is being prepared, our separate guide on the Cafcass section 7 report covers that process.
Quite often parents may make an application for an order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. The orders covered by this section are:
A family assistance order is sometimes listed alongside these, but it is made under section 16 of the Children Act 1989, not section 8.
In the above cases the court may want more information about a child’s welfare to decide on what action will be the best for the child and may request a section 7 report. The report will take consider the risks to the child which are raised in relation to the parents or other relatives.
This differs from the section 37 report for which the main purpose is to ascertain whether a care or supervision order should be applied for in order to protect the child. The main difference between a section 7 report and a section 37 report is that a section 7 report is prepared where there is a private law dispute between the parents and or other family members, whereas a report is required to be produced where the court believes that public law involvement may be needed by way of intervention from the local authority.
A section 37 report can take up to eight weeks to be prepared and submitted to the family court. In the interim the court may choose to make an interim care order for a maximum of 8 weeks. The court does not have the power to require the local authority to make an application for a care or supervision order following their investigation of the child’s circumstances.
Whilst a section 37 report is being prepared the courts can make an interim care order. You might be wondering what is an interim care order and may not have come across such an order. You might have heard the terms full care order or a final care order. An interim care order falls under section 38 of the Children Act 1989. So what is an interim care order?
An interim care order similarly to a full care order which gives the local authority in question parental responsibility over a child. Therefore whilst understanding what an interim care order is, it important for you to understand that the making of such an order gives the local authority the power and authority to make decisions over a child similar to those what a parent would make.
Whilst conducting its investigation and applying for an interim care order the local authority is required to prepare a care plan. Such a plan details whom the child will live with as well as the contact arrangements for the parents until the final hearing.an interim care order is granted by the court if it identifies that a child is at serious risk of harm.
An interim care order lasts for whatever period the court specifies when it makes the order. Section 38(4) of the Children Act 1989 says an interim order “shall have effect for such period as may be specified in the order”.
Older guidance still says a first interim care order lasts eight weeks and can then be renewed every 28 days. That is out of date. Those fixed maximum periods were removed on 22 April 2014 by section 14 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The court now sets the length itself, and in practice ties it to the next hearing date.
There is one longstop that matters on a section 37 case. Where the court has given a section 37 direction, has not given a direction under section 37(4) setting a different reporting date, and the local authority has not applied for a care or supervision order, an interim care order ends eight weeks after it was made (section 38(4)(da)). Separately, section 32(1)(a)(ii) requires the court to dispose of a care or supervision application within 26 weeks, though that period can be extended where the case needs it.
When understanding what is an interim care order, you might be wondering whether such an order can be challenged an overturned. Interim care orders can be subject to an appeal if you believe something about the facts or the making of an order itself is incorrect.
As a parent you could also make an application to discharge the interim care order altogether. The courts will usually consider a discharge of an interim care order where it can be proved that there has been a change in circumstances which is significant. The courts can also on its own accord discharge an interim care order where they feel a child can best be cared for at home and the interim care order is no longer required.
Once Section 37 report has been prepared the social worker will be responsible for sending this report to the court. The court will also arrange for copies of the section 37 report to all the parties involved in the proceedings. The social worker who carried out the investigations and prepared the report will also be expected to be available for the court hearing.
A section 37 report is very serious for a parent. The impact of a section 37 report is that the court are considering whether your child should be removed from your care, given that there is a possibility they are suffering from significant harm whilst in your care.
The family court cannot forcefully make the local authority to issue care or supervision proceedings. If the local authority during their investigations have not been able to identify any issues relating to the welfare of the child or have not been able to evidence any issues of harm being caused to the child then no further action will be taken. However, the report will provide the full reasons for reaching this decision which will be considered by the court.
If the section 37 report has made a recommendation for care proceedings to be initiated then this means the investigations have established that that there are issues with the welfare of the child and therefore the child will be removed from your care. Parental responsibility of the child will be provided to the local authority who will hold this along with the other parental responsibility holders. However, the local authority can exercise their parental responsibility above the other parental responsibility holders as far as it is necessary to safeguard the welfare of the child.
If the report contains any factual errors or omissions then the author of the report needs to be contacted so as to allow them the opportunity to rectify the report.
If, however you are of the opinion that the section 37 report is incorrect then you can challenge this report by one of the following ways which are discussed in some detail:
Statement: In some instances, the court directions will provide for further statements to be filed following the filing of the welfare report. This allows for parties to consider the section 37 report, so they are able to comment on it. This appears to be sensible since it can help identify the issues and arguments which could be dealt with in the next hearing.
Complaint: A formal complaint can be made to the author of the report if one party is not agreeable to the report. But what is the ideal time to make a complaint against the report?
It is difficult to assess when might be the best time to complain. A complaint during the investigation stage may annoy or anger the officer who has such potential power over your children’s lives. Your complaint may just possibly result in your case being transferred to another officer, but this officer is likely to be a colleague of the original officer and supportive of him. You may wish to secure advice from our family law specialists in York or across the UK before taking such steps.
Quite often a parent will usually want to make a complaint once they are in receipt of the report. However, if you wait until this point there is likely to be insufficient time between the filing of the report and the actual hearing for any corrective action to take place.
Making a formal complaint may lead to an adjournment of the hearing as the report may need to be considered with a few of either preparing an addendum report or an entirely new report from a different officer. However, this might not be in your child’s interest given that your child may have been removed from your care by way of an interim order. Quite often judges may decide to go ahead with the hearing despite a complaint if they believe a delay is likely to prejudice the welfare of the child.
Complaints, especially those about the conduct of the investigation, arising after the report has been filed may be regarded by the court simply as your way of releasing your anger because it is not in your favour. The court may also state that had the report been favourable to you there would have been no such complaints.
Nothing. The local authority funds the investigation. You may still face legal costs if you need to challenge what the report says or respond to care proceedings.
Schools, GPs, health visitors, police, and any existing support services all feed information to social workers. Everyone becomes a potential witness. If you’d like to know what to expect when social services are called, we recommend reading our step-by-step guide.
Schools reporting neglect signs, concerning behaviour, or abuse indicators can influence courts to order Section 37 investigations during existing family proceedings. Poor attendance, developmental issues, or emotional problems raise red flags.
Grandparents can’t directly request Section 37 reports – only courts can order them. However, you can raise welfare concerns with the court during family proceedings or contact local authorities about safeguarding.
There’s no fixed threshold – courts use discretion based on welfare concerns. Domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health crises, or persistent conflict all raise red flags.
Courts need surprisingly little – just welfare concerns during proceedings. A single allegation or worrying incident can trigger one. The real evidence gathering happens during the investigation itself.
Social workers conducting Section 37 assessments examine your home environment, parenting capacity, your child’s wellbeing, school performance, and any signs of significant harm. They’ll speak with teachers, doctors, and family members during the Section 37 investigation process to build a complete picture.
Courts can make emergency orders during investigations if immediate child safety concerns arise – including interim care orders or emergency protection orders. Police can also remove children in crisis situations.
No. The investigation is ordered by the court under section 37 of the Children Act 1989, so it is not something a parent can decline. What you can decide is how you engage with it: you are entitled to be told what the concerns are, to answer them, and to give the social worker information of your own.
A section 37 direction does not by itself change where a child lives. The court can make an interim care order while the investigation runs, but only where it is satisfied of the section 38(2) test — reasonable grounds for believing the section 31(2) circumstances exist. The eight weeks are hard on a family; knowing what comes next helps.
You have the right to honest, fair treatment, but no automatic right to have a legal representative present during social worker interviews. You can ask for meeting notes and provide additional information afterward.
No, you won’t see the draft beforehand. You’ll get a copy once it’s filed with the court, usually just before your hearing. Any factual errors need highlighting immediately. Family law specialists can quickly review reports and spot problems that might have serious consequences for your case.
Not directly, but their recommendations might trigger orders that do. Care proceedings resulting from negative reports definitely impact your rights. Protecting your legal status requires early intervention.
Section 37 reports focus mainly on whether care orders are needed, not contact arrangements. However, serious welfare concerns might affect your contact with your children through separate proceedings.
Unfortunately yes – they follow you. However, demonstrating genuine change over time can overcome historic concerns. Past problems don’t guarantee future failures.
They carry weight. A positive report can settle welfare concerns quickly; a negative one can lead to care proceedings, and its findings tend to be referred to in any later application about the same child.
You cannot commission a second one — only the court can direct an investigation under section 37. What you can do is ask the court’s permission to file an independent assessment, such as a psychological or parenting-capacity report: in children proceedings a person may not put expert evidence before the court without the court’s permission (section 13 of the Children and Families Act 2014). Our family law specialists can advise on whether an application for permission is worth making in your case.
You can’t choose your social worker, but you can raise concerns about bias or professional conduct through formal complaints. In serious cases, the case might be reassigned – though this rarely happens. Family law specialists can advise on legitimate grounds for challenging assignments and help you manage difficult working relationships.
Only with legitimate grounds like bias or misconduct. Frivolous complaints backfire spectacularly. The focus should be working constructively with whoever’s assigned.
Courts usually schedule hearings within 2-4 weeks of receiving the report, though complex cases take longer. The waiting feels endless when your family’s future hangs in the balance.
Domestic violence allegations dramatically intensify investigations, with social workers examining risks to both children and the non-abusive parent. Emergency protection measures, refuge placement, or supervised contact often follow.
Mental health conditions don’t automatically mean negative findings if you’re managing them well and they’re not affecting your parenting. Social workers look at treatment compliance, support networks, and how it impacts your children.
Even when care proceedings aren’t recommended, you might be offered parenting courses, family therapy, or ongoing monitoring. These services are usually voluntary but refusing them doesn’t look good.
Usually not. Children’s services will not normally tell you who raised a concern, because referrers are treated as confidential so that people are not deterred from reporting a worry about a child. Anonymous referrals are accepted. What you are entitled to is to be told what the concerns actually are, in enough detail to answer them, and the report itself must set out the information the social worker relied on. If a referral was malicious, say so in your response to the report and give the court your evidence for that.
There is no such thing, and the phrase is a common mix-up. Section 37 directs the local authority to investigate (section 37(5)), so a section 37 report always comes from children’s services. Cafcass can be asked to write a section 7 welfare report under section 7. Cafcass may already be involved in your case as the children’s guardian, which is what causes the confusion, but the section 37 report itself is the local authority’s.
A court can only make a care or supervision order if the threshold in section 31(2) of the Children Act 1989 is met: the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, and that harm is attributable to the care given to the child not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give, or to the child being beyond parental control. Meeting the threshold does not by itself mean an order is made — the court must then decide what is best for the child under the section 1 welfare checklist. For an interim order the test is lower: reasonable grounds for believing those circumstances exist (section 38(2)).
No. Those are different pieces of legislation that share a section number. A section 37 hospital order comes from the Mental Health Act 1983, and other Acts have their own section 37. This page is about section 37 of the Children Act 1989, which concerns investigations into a child’s circumstances in family proceedings.
A section 37 report is ordered by a court that is already dealing with family proceedings. A section 47 enquiry is started by the local authority itself, without any court direction, when it has reasonable cause to suspect a child in its area is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. The two can overlap: an authority carrying out a section 37 investigation may also be conducting section 47 enquiries about the same child.
At Kabir Family Law we specialise in child law matters. We understand that when a section 37 report is ordered by a court your emotions will be running high due to the fact that you could potentially lose your child to the local authority.
Child law matters are inherently complex and require a thorough understanding of the legal framework and procedures that protect children’s welfare. Reports such as section 7 and section 37 reports are essential tools in family proceedings, enabling the court to make well-informed decisions about a child’s future. The local authority’s role in investigating the child’s circumstances and providing recommendations is central to this process, often leading to the provision of support services, the initiation of care proceedings, or other necessary interventions. If you are involved in family proceedings or have concerns about a child’s welfare, seeking advice from our family law specialists is crucial. By working together, the court and local authority can ensure that the child’s best interests are always at the forefront, and that families receive the support and guidance they need during challenging times.
We pride ourselves in listening to you with empathy and will provide you with practicable solutions in how to deal with the report. We can also assist you in reviewing the section 37 report and challenging the report should this not be accurate. Contact us today on 0330 094 5880 to discuss your options or let us call you back. You can otherwise book a time that suits you.
8 of 41 guides — scroll sideways for more
Section 37 Report
Section 47 Report Explained: What Happens During Section 47 Enquiries?
Placement Orders
Parental Alienation & Alienating Behaviours
Narcissistic Parental Alienation
Practice Direction 12J: Your Complete Guide to Domestic Abuse Protection in Family Court
Clare’s Law & Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
Temporary Child Custody
Short videos from the Kabir Family Law team, explaining family law in plain English.
We are a team of legally trained family law and divorce specialists with years of experience across all areas of family law. We are not part of a firm of solicitors, do not undertake legal reserved activities unless permitted and are therefore entirely independent. Please subscribe to our mailing list.
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