The main legislation relating to children is found in the The Children Act 1989. Section 8 of that Act deals with the normal range of Orders between parents dealing with where and with whom the child or children shall live and what contact there should be with the non-residential parent.
The Courts can also help to determine a specific issue such as where your child should attend school and what their surname should be or it can prohibit a parent from taking a particular step such as removing your child to another country.
The Orders normally cease to have effect once a child reaches the age of 16, but can extend beyond that in limited circumstances.
Court proceedings of this sort generally involve a child’s parents but may also involve a grandparent or the child themselves.