This Grandparents’ Day, Families Need Fathers and The Grandparents’ Association are asking for you to spare a thought for the grandchildren who have no contact with their grandparents. When parents separate, relationships between grandchildren and grandparents frequently suffer. Recent research carried out by the UK charities Families Need Fathers and The Grandparents’ Association found that 42% lost all face-to-face contact with their grandchildren.

Grandparents’ Day is an event introduced by Age Concern to celebrate the important role grandparents play in society and the special relationship they have with their grandchildren, and will be held on October 5^th this year. In January 2008 the Grandparents’ Rights petition was supported by seven charities including Families Need Fathers and The Grandparents Association and signed by 1,673 individuals and representatives of supporting organisations. The Government’s response to the petition is unsatisfactory and ignores the fundamental failures that exist within the Courts and welfare services and how this affects children and families.   

To better protect a child’s right to family life, Families Need Fathers and The Grandparents’ Association are calling upon the Government to take immediate steps toward the following:

   ·       That the Children Act 1989 be amended to remove the obstacle that requires the biological family to ask permission prior to making an application for contact and their case being heard.

·       That CAFCASS mediation, investigations and Section 7 reports should routinely include consideration of the relationship between the grandchildren and grandparents.

·       That where grandparents have been involved in the grandchildren’s care, this should be considered by both CAFCASS and the Judiciary when considering the future arrangements for the child. Current legislation allows for this but it rarely happens.

·       That when contact with the child is broken, the judiciary make use of the power granted within the Children and Adoption Act 2006.

·       That in any policy guidelines, grandparents should be explicitly named.

By moving towards the changes outlined above, we can help ensure that the relationships between children and their grandparents are protected and one of the most important and enriching elements of family life is sustained.

Jenny, a grandparent and member of Families Need Fathers said “My husband and I were hugely involved in caring for our beloved granddaughter before my son separated from her mum and then one day the mother and child disappeared. Gone with toys, personal and family possessions. Just gone. Bereavement is a word I have heard very often since from grandparents. It is bereavement without a body, no funeral, no burial and no closure.”