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The UK's leading Shared Parenting charity

FNF is the leading UK charity supporting dads, mums and grandparents to have personal contact and meaningful relationships with their children following parental separation.

We offer information, advice and support services helping parents to achieve a positive outcome for their children.

Our online Forum and our network of over 50 UK Branches also offer pro-bono guidance of solicitors and others familiar with the operation of the family courts.

Join FNF or register for free to receive our newsletters, surveys, research and more.  As a member, you can also access our Forum in which experienced volunteers, including solicitors and McKenzie Friends can answer your questions. 

Visit your nearest FNF Branch where meetings are run by experienced and knowledgeable Volunteers who want to help you.  Some of the more established branches run solicitors' clinics for the benefit of our members. 

We  have a telephone Helpline (0300 0300 363) which provides first-line support.

FNF membership costs less than a few minutes of a typical solicitor's time - and could save you a fortune by being better prepared for the choices ahead!  Find out more about free registration and joining or simply donate.  Your support is crucial in enabling us to sustain our mission working for parents and children who are being denied a loving relationship.

This is a testimonial email we received recently from a service user:

“I have a solicitor who charges ￡285 + VAT per hour. She's good but she is very expensive. FNF with its ￡39 membership fee has given me more practical advice and provided me with company of fellow fathers who are striving to achieve contact with their children against all odds. Something my solicitor can never offer. I have had 3-4 sittings and have had more practical advice than I have had from my solicitor (who is process driven and has no emotional connect) for last 6-8 months and I don't even want to mention how much I have paid her in this time. FNF has been amazing for me. I would recommend it to all fathers going through a divorce and wanting contact with their child/children. We are all in this together.”

 

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  • A thoughtful interview with Sir James Munby, former President of the Family Division. Speaking of care cases, he observes "the entire system is operating in an evidence-deprived vacuum". The same and arguably more could be said of private family law disputes. Judicial decisions are reached on arrangements for children, but "there is no mechanism to find out further along the line what happens to the children, so they never learn about what works best". Our followers on Facebook will know that we often publish available research, but there is a lot more abroad whilst here we are desperately lacking in even the most basic data or "rigorous analysis". Please support us by following us, sharing & liking our posts, registering for free, becoming a member or making a donation. https://members.tortoisemedia.com/2019/06/25/family-judge/content.html

  • If Theresa May can make non-transferable, funded, parernity leave happen it would be a hugely important and positive step. Countries that have such policies demonstrate a high take-up. They also have better child welfare outcomes, less pressure on mothers and a greater likelihood of joint parenting whether together or when parents separate. If Theresa May makes this happen it would, rightly, be an achievement she could be proud of. The detail of proposals is, as ever important, but this is a good start. Please support us by sharing, liking, following us, registering for free, becoming a member or making a donation. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7171695/Fathers-12-WEEKS-paid-paternity-leave-Theresa-Mays-legacy-plans.html

  • This FOI table shows fees charged by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). Last year the £33m was collected (£27.75m from paying and £5.55m from receiving parents). The charges are made for their 'collect' service when paying parents find themselves unable to pay on time an in full. The CMS then add a 20% charge to the paying parent and a 4% charge to survive. The allowance for their own cost of living has not been reviewed for inflation since 1998. Most paying parents are on benefits and struggling to pay their rent. Contrary to popular belief, most arrears are not because parents won't pay, but because they can't. The Government and DWP know this. Your MP may not. Please support us by sharing and liking our posts, following us, registering for free, becoming a member or making a donation.

  • Over 80 per cent of respondents in a YouGov survey said the law should be reformed so that judges have a presumption in favour roughly equal time with each parent after divorce or separation, excluding cases where children were deemed at risk. The survey was commissioned by Families Need Fathers BPM Cymru and reported by The Times (sorry that the full article is behind a paywall). Equal care may not be practical to best meet a child's best interests in every case, but where all else is equal, the presumption of joint care is a desirable starting point. The results support what we have been saying for years and clearly it is what most people want. There is a big gap between that and the reality of people's experience when they seek arrangements for their children through family courts. Several Scandinavian countries now enjoy equal care as the most common arrangement with joint care (at least 35% of time) representing the vast majority of separated families. Please support us by sharing and liking our posts, following us, registering for free, making a donation or becoming a member. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fathers-call-for-equal-access-to-children-after-divorce-n5cp9xdxq

  • New Advertising Standards Authority regulations came into force yesterday that prohibit harmful gender stereotypes in advertising. An examples offered includes 'An ad that depicts a man or a woman failing to achieve a task specifically because of their gender e.g. a man’s inability to change nappies; a woman’s inability to park a car' Another example is 'An ad that seeks to emphasise the contrast between a boy’s stereotypical personality (e.g. daring) with a girl’s stereotypical personality (e.g. caring) needs to be handled with care.' It is important in furthering the cause of shared parenting that advertising does not cause harm by promoting such stereotypes which infect the culture, including professionals in the field. To support our work, please share and like our posts, follow us, become a member, register for free or make a donation. https://www.asa.org.uk/news/ban-on-harmful-gender-stereotypes-in-ads-comes-into-force.html

  • More flexibility for dads staying at home after the birth of children reduces maternal anti-anxiety medication by a quarter, reduces hospital visits by 14% and are 11% less likely to use antibiotics following childbirth. The research, by Stanford University, is just the latest evidence showing that Swedish policies in support of fatherhood benefit children, mothers and fathers. Last year, our Government rejected proposals by the Women and Equalities Select Committee for fathers to have a month of funded, non-transferable paternity leave. Please support our work by sharing and liking our posts, following us, registering for free, becoming a member or making a donation. https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2019/06/05/when-new-dads-can-stay-home-its-good-for-the-health-of-moms/


FNF HSSF Kite Mark Award

Families Need Fathers has been awarded the Help and Support for Separated Families Kite Mark which is a new UK government accreditation scheme for organisations offering help to separated families.

Families Need Fathers work with a range of family law professionals, including Family Law Panel

 

Upcoming Events

27/06/2019 Thu: Southport Meeting
27/06/2019 Thu: Exeter Meeting
29/06/2019 Sat: Harrow Branch Meetings
1/07/2019 Mon: London Central Solicitor's Clinic
1/07/2019 Mon: Edinburgh Meeting
1/07/2019 Mon: Nottingham Meeting
1/07/2019 Mon: Northern Ireland Meeting
1/07/2019 Mon: Reading Meeting
1/07/2019 Mon: London Central Meeting
2/07/2019 Tue: Leeds Central Meeting
2/07/2019 Tue: Newcastle Meeting
2/07/2019 Tue: Northampton Meeting
2/07/2019 Tue: Oxford Meeting (check day with branch)
2/07/2019 Tue: Harrow Branch Meetings
3/07/2019 Wed: Manchester Meeting
3/07/2019 Wed: Epsom Meeting
3/07/2019 Wed: London West Meeting
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