“You’re not to speak unless you’re spoken to”: parent voice in public law proceedings in England and Wales

Recent policy rhetoric underlines the value of listening to those with first-hand experience of the family courts to better understand how the system could be adapted to benefit parents’ participation. This paper examines the participative experiences of 28 parents who were involved in recent care proceedings in England and Wales, with a focus on the procedural justice concept of voice. In-depth, narrative interviews highlight embedded, systemic barriers to parents’ participation, including the formality of legal language, procedure, and courtroom layout. Parents’ assessments of their legal representation and their interactions with the judge are important markers of whether they felt heard in the proceedings. The wider implications of findings are examined, including the gulf that exists in interpretations of ‘voice’ between professionals and parents as parties in legal proceedings. Adaptations to professional practice and court processes to better accommodate parent voice are considered.