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Parenting plan for separated parents (England and Wales)
England and Wales · in English · for parents
€2.00Fill it in online free — pay only to download
13 questions · about 5 min
Made for use in England and Wales
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For separated parents who have agreed how to bring up their children: where the children live, time with each parent, school holidays and special days, handovers, decisions about school and health, and how you will talk and settle disagreements. It is an agreement between you, not a court order. Cafcass publishes a free parenting plan and guidance, the first place to look; each of you should take independent advice if unsure about any part.
- Made for use in England and Wales
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- You have separated from your partner in England and want to write down when the children are with each of you.
- You keep arguing about school holidays and Christmas and want a clear timetable.
- After mediation you want to sign what you agreed about the children in Wales.
- You want a parenting plan that both parents sign and keep.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Date
- Parent
- Parent's address
- Town or city
- Parent's postcode
- Other parent
- Other parent's address, with postcode
- Children
- Where the children live
- When the children spend time with each parent
- School holidays, birthdays and festivals
- Other arrangements: handovers, school, health, costs, contact (blank if none)
- Date to review the plan (blank if none)
Common questions
- Is there a free parenting plan I can use instead?
- Yes. Cafcass, the service that advises the family courts in England (Cafcass Cymru in Wales), publishes a free parenting plan with guidance on each subject. Many parents use it, alone or with a mediator. This document is a shorter signed agreement in the same spirit, with your own arrangements written in, for parents who want one page to sign and keep. Either can be changed whenever you both agree.
- Is a parenting plan legally binding?
- Not like a court order: neither parent can enforce it through the court as it stands. It records what you agreed, and if you later go to court, the judge can see it as evidence of what has worked. The court decides any dispute on the child’s welfare (Children Act 1989, s 1), whatever a plan says. Turning a plan into a court order is a court application, which the family court’s own process covers.
- What if we cannot agree, or one parent stops following the plan?
- Talk first, then try mediation: a family mediator helps you reach a new agreement, and the Family Mediation Council lists accredited mediators and the help available with the cost, such as the government’s voucher towards mediation about children. Before most applications to the family court, a parent must attend a mediation information and assessment meeting (Children and Families Act 2014, s 10), unless an exemption applies, such as domestic abuse. The court then decides on the child’s welfare.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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