TBIJ launches mentorship programme to support next wave of family court reporters

Award-winning reporter Hannah Summers to support other journalists as part of Family Court Files project

Published September 4 2025

Every day, family courts across the country make decisions that have a profound impact on people’s lives. They make rulings on allegations of domestic abuse, on what access a parent has to their child, on whether a child should be taken into care.

These decisions have been made largely behind closed doors. But in the last two years, huge progress has been made to improve transparency, with an expanded pilot scheme giving journalists improved access to court documents and participants the opportunity to speak publicly about their cases.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has made pioneering use of this development through our Family Court Files project, which launched in July 2023.

It is no exaggeration to say that our journalism has changed both the way the family courts are reported on and has contributed to new case law.

Now we want to help others to do the same by offering a unique opportunity to two journalists to be mentored by TBIJ’s award-winning Hannah Summers, the UK’s first full-time family court reporter.

Successful applicants for the six-month scheme would be provided with at least an hour of one-to-one mentoring per month as well as help and guidance outside of these times.

The aim is to instil the knowledge and confidence to cover family court cases effectively and responsibly, including seeking to lift reporting restrictions and making legal challenges.

Hannah said: “Before I first reported on the family courts, I had no idea what to expect. The thought of standing up in court and arguing for reporting restrictions to be lifted was daunting. At that time, the rule was that journalists could not report.

“What made the difference to my early successes was the guidance and insights from other journalists who already specialised in this area – and they were few and far between.”

Those journalists had experience in navigating the secretive world of family justice and knew how to make successful challenges in the public interest.

Hannah explained: “They were willing to impart their advice and, most generously, their time in helping me find my feet in a system that was rarely welcoming to reporters – and often actively hostile.

“Without their support, I wouldn’t be doing this work today. Now I would like to extend that support to other journalists who want to explore the world of family law and help bring greater transparency to this crucial area of our justice system.”

TBIJ’s investigation into how courts handle allegations of domestic abuse has informed new guidance aimed at protecting victims. Our focus on the use of unregulated experts prompted a public consultation on new rules banning them. Meanwhile, mothers are using our findings to successfully challenge rulings that saw their children being taken away by the courts.

The project has also set new legal precedents, such as the permission to name a serial rapist given unsupervised access to his daughter by a judge on the advice of a children’s guardian. The convicted sex offender later had his parental responsibility revoked.

Hannah was also one of two reporters – along with the journalist Louise Tickle – who led a successful Court of Appeal challenge to overturn a high court ban on naming the three the judges who oversaw the historic family court proceedings relating to the care of murdered 10-year-old Sara Sharif.

TBIJ’s belief in holding this system to account is not limited to our own journalism. We have supported journalists from a range of organisations to cover family court cases through workshops, online resources and special events.

We provided training via a simulated live courtroom scenario and, in November 2024, held the first ever Family Court Reporting Week, with around 150 people from the media, family law, judiciary, social services, police and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) in attendance at events in Liverpool, Derby, Leeds, Luton and Manchester.

The mentorship programme will help expand this aspect of our work by helping journalists to break down complex legal issues and understand how judges reach life-changing decisions.

Gareth Davies, editor of the Family Court Files project, said: “Scrutiny of family courts is an essential part of a fair and open justice system – and a vital role of journalism. Our work over the last two years has uncovered serious and systemic injustices which would otherwise have gone unreported. But there is only so much we can do on our own.

“There needs to be more reporters in court to cover the decisions judges take, the factors that influence them and the impact they have on people’s lives. If our mentoring scheme results in cases being covered that otherwise would not have been, then it will have been very much worthwhile.”

The mentorship programme is open to journalists with at least three years’ experience in the UK as a freelance or staff reporter. Applicants should send an email to familycourtfiles@tbij.com entitled Family Court Files Mentoring and include: