Advice Centre

Education is one of the major steps in any child’s life and requires proper attention and consideration to make the right decision. If parents are separated, things can get a little complicated if they start to have disagreements regarding such an important decision in their child’s life. 

Such an important decision can only be made after considering various factors. Some of these include the status of the particular institute, the distance of the school from both parents’ houses, and the financial impacts. It’s easy to see how things could begin to get fraught if there are disagreements. So what can you do?

Talk and Try to Get on the Same Page

Many disagreements can be easily resolved just by having a patient conversation. Often, simply arranging a meeting with your ex-partner or anyone with parental responsibility for your child can suffice.  You should begin by discussing your opinions, requirements, and concerns and try to find common ground. Moreover, try to visit schools together to find the one that satisfies both partners. This might help to get a preferred choice from both sides.

If this does not work, then what else can be done?

Try Mediation

You can consider hiring a trained family mediator if talking doesn’t resolve the problem. With a third-party specialist, you work through the arguments and opinions of both sides, and they will suggest a solution accordingly.

The mediator might also speak to your children for you if they are old or mature enough. Mediation is an effective way to resolve a dispute without going to court and is less expensive. It works best if both partners enter the mediation phase in good faith and genuinely wish to resolve the matter. 

Go to Court

If you can’t reach a consensus through mediation, the last option is to go to court. You can take the matter to court by applying for a Specific Issue Order or a Prohibited Steps Order. This will only be accepted if the partners have tried out mediation first. You will get the resolution of a conflict through court, but it can get a little costly and might take some months.

What will be the Court’s Considerations?

The main purpose of the court is to prioritise your child’s welfare. According to the Children Act 1989, the court should consider various factors, including the child’s feelings, emotions, and physical and educational needs. It also considers if the parents are capable of fulfilling the child’s educational needs or not.

Case Studies

In a recent case, one of the parents wanted to send their younger child to the same school the older children went to, but the other disagreed. The court decided that the child must attend the same school his older siblings attended because it would not be ideal to keep them apart.

In another case, a high-achieving child was sitting their 11+ examinations while the parents were shortlisting secondary school for them. The disagreement was on the preference for pending offers. Before the hearing, while the statements were ready, the child failed to get a letter from the father’s preferred institute, and the child had to go to the mother’s preferred one.

Contact Our UK Family Law Solicitors based in Manchester, London and Birmingham

If you would like to have an informal chat with our Family Law experts in confidence to see if you have a viable claim then please complete the contact form on our website and we will give you a call back at a time convenient to you or please call/ contact Iwona Durlak, Family Law Partner and Solicitor by contacting us on 0330 107 0107 or email info@imd.co.uk.  Once we are contacted by you, one of our helpful team members will contact you. Please note we have a team of lawyers who speak many languages including English, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Lithuanian.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.