Legal Eagle: Resolving parental dispute on where a child goes to school
Does your child’s father have Parental Responsibility (PR)?
Their father will have PR if he is on the birth certificate, you were married to him when your child was born, or he has obtained a Court Order giving him PR.
If your child’s father does not have PR then you can decide where your child goes to school without any input from him. Your child’s father can then make an application to Court if he wishes to challenge your decision. This application may also lead to him seeking / obtaining PR.
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Hide AdIf your child’s father does have PR then you need to try and come to an agreement regarding this. When an important decision is being made for a child, it is important that everyone with PR is included in the decision. If you are not able to come to an agreement between yourselves, you should then consider whether mediation is appropriate and get in touch with a mediator. If mediation is unsuccessful, or not appropriate, the next step is to make an application to Court. There are some circumstances such as in matters of urgency where it is possible to skip the mediation step and proceed straight to Court.
If an application to the Court becomes necessary, then you will need to apply to the Court for a Specific Issues Order through a C100 form. This needs to detail the nature of the disagreement, what you are asking the Court to decide and why it is in your child’s best interests for them to go to your choice of school. Your child’s father will be given the opportunity to explain his position.
The Court will then decide on what it believes to be in your child’s best interests based on the evidence provided. There is no guarantee that the Court will agree with your point of view and therefore it is always best to try and come to an agreement outside of the Court arena. Sometimes Court proceedings cannot be avoided however as the child’s best interests must always come first.
If this situation sounds similar to yours or you have another family matter you would like advice on, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0191 275 2626 or via email at [email protected]