Home » Practice guidance » A barrister’s tips for giving evidence in the family court

A barrister’s tips for giving evidence in the family court

Author: Jonathan Bott, barrister, 43 Temple Row Chambers

Publication Date: 30 November 2016

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Photo: Corgarashu/Fotolia

Introduction

These tips have been suggested by Jonathan Bott, a family law barrister who represents local authorities, children and parents. They are designed to help social workers better understand how advocates approach cases, and how to deal with the challenges of cross-examination. This practice guide helps you meet point 8 of the Knowledge and skills statement for […]

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Add item to CPD log

Title *
A barrister's tips for giving evidence in the family court

Date *
19-10-2021 (dd-mm-yyyy)

Learning or development activity, resource or URL
https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/a-barristers-tips-for-social-workers-giving-evidence-to-family-court-hearings/

Learning

Use the boxes below to record what you have learned from this activity. The form below replicates that used by Social Work England on your online account, so that when you have to renew your registration you can include this as evidence of your continuing professional development. Everything you write will be stored in your Inform account from which you can export all the information as a Word file and upload to an unstructured form on the Social Work England website or print it off for other uses – for example, in supervision.

1. What was your job role? Briefly provide the context of your role when you did the CPD?

2. What did you do? Provide more information to explain the title of the CPD, for example, what you did and/or what happened.

3. Critical reflection - explain the impact that the CPD had on the quality of your practice.

4. Social Work England have eight CPD standards (4.1-4.8). Which of these do you believe your learning demonstrates? Note down and reflect on as many as apply. The eight standards are:

4.1 Incorporate feedback from a range of sources, including from people with lived experience of my social work practice.
4.2 Use supervision and feedback to critically reflect on, and identify my learning needs, including how I use research and evidence to inform my practice.
4.3 Keep my practice up to date and record how I use research, theories and frameworks to inform my practice and my professional judgement.
4.4 Demonstrate good subject knowledge on key aspects of social work practice and develop knowledge of current issues in society and social policies impacting on social work.
4.5 Contribute to an open and creative learning culture in the workplace to discuss, reflect on and share best practice.
4.6 Reflect on my learning activities and evidence what impact continuing professional development has on the quality of my practice.
4.7 Record my learning and reflection on a regular basis and in accordance with Social Work England's guidance on continuing professional development.
4.8 Reflect on my own values and challenge the impact they have on my practice.

For more information, see Social Work England’s guidance on CPD.

Add item to PRTL log

Title * A barrister's tips for giving evidence in the family court

Date * 19-10-2021 (dd-mm-yyyy)

URL https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/a-barristers-tips-for-social-workers-giving-evidence-to-family-court-hearings/

Learning Use the boxes below to record what you have learned from this activity. Everything you write will be stored in your Inform account and you can export all the information as a Word file or print it off. When you have to renew your social work registration with Social Care Wales, you can include this as evidence of post-registration training and learning.

1. What have you learned from this activity?

2. How has it contributed to your practice?

3. How much time have you spent on this activity?

4. Next steps (any additional learning you need in this area)?

For more details, visit Social Care Wales

Citation

Full Harvard reference for this document:

() A barrister's tips for giving evidence in the family court. Practice Guidance.
Community Care Inform
[online]
https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/a-barristers-tips-for-social-workers-giving-evidence-to-family-court-hearings/
[accessed: 19 October 2021]

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In the text: Brackenbridge argues that "[t]he interpersonal dynamics of sexual abuse in sport are similar to those in other settings but exacerbated by some key situational differences" (Brackenbridge, 2008).

Full reference to insert at the bottom of the document: Brackenbridge, C. (2008) Child Protection in Sport. Guide. Community Care Inform Children [online]. Available at: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/articles/2008/02/22/1973/Child+protection+in+sport.html [accessed: INSERT DATE HERE (eg 25 November 2015)]