Who is a Parent
Refer to "Your Rights|" for details of the rights and responsibilities that parents have to make choices about their children's education, to be consulted and to have information.
Although the answer may seem obvious, the term 'parent' in education law can include many people besides the natural parents; and the people who are parents can change more than once during a child's school life. The position is often affected by the provisions of the Children Act 1989. Anyone who has 'parental responsibility' under the Act counts as a parent.
This can lead to difficult situations. Some examples of the problems that can arise are given below. Here are some examples of people who do, or do not, count as parents.
Alice's parents are divorced and there is a court order for her to live with her mother. Her father is still a parent for the purpose of dealings with the school.
Irfan's parents are separated but not divorced. There is no court order relating to Irfan, but he lives with his grandparents. The grandparents count as parents and will, as the people who actually care for Irfan, receive the school reports and invitations to parents' meetings; but the natural parents also count as parent and will also receive reports and invitations, if they ask for them.
Christine lives with her mother, Daphne. Daphne has never been married but is living with Eric, who is not the father of Christine. Whether Eric counts as Christine's parent will depend on whether he can be said to have 'care' of her. Christine's actual father does not have 'parental responsibility'.
Freyda's parents are divorced. There is a court order for her to live with her grandparents, but she now lives mainly with her mother. Unless and until that order is revoked, the grandparents count as parents in addition to Freyda's father and mother.
Graham has been adopted under an adoption order. Only his adoptive parents count as parents; his natural parents do not.
The range of people who may count as parents make it important for schools to know the names and addresses of the people concerned. This is why, when you enrol your child at school, the headteacher will ask for information about anyone (apart from yourself) who may count as a parent including those who live elsewhere.
You should always supply the headteacher with the necessary information about changes in the names and addresses of other people who may count as parents.
Your child's school should help you keep in touch with your child if you have parental responsibility.
However this will normally only be done if you make a request to the headteacher.
You do not normally have the right to visit your child at school during school hours.
Problems sometimes arise because the rights of the people who are, or count as, parents but do not have the present care of the child. Do try to resolve these problems by agreement. Headteachers are seldom able to intervene on one side or the other.
One parent may sometimes wish to stop another from having access to the child, perhaps as the result of a sudden separation of the parents. Headteacher cannot be expected to arbitrate on this issue. If the parents cannot agree, they must resolve the dispute through the courts.
The parent with whom a child lives may wish to restrict another parent's access to information (eg. copies of school reports). Generally this cannot be done. However under the Children Act 1989 it is possible for a parent to apply for a court order ("a prohibited steps order") under which ordinary rights are restricted. For example, an order might ban a parent from receiving school reports or other information. The headteacher would then be able to refuse requests for the reports or information.
If a child of divorced parents lives with his or her mother, the remarriage of the mother does not lead to a change in the child's surname. The surname can be changed only if the father agrees or if a court order or other legal authority is obtained. Unmarried mothers, or other parents who are the sole person with parental responsibility can change a child's name without any other consent.
Families can change. Schools need to know about these changes so that pupil records can be kept up to date. Please always tell a school if something happens.
For more information about how the Children Act may affect you and your child's education in Staffordshire contact the Education Welfare Service.
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Burton/Tamworth - (01283) 239078
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Lichfield/Cannock - (01543) 512073
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Newcastle/Moorlands - (01782) 297575
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Stafford/South Staffs - (01785) 356876
If these issues raise problems for you, please feel free to discuss your concerns in confidence with your child's headteacher.
If your family includes step-parents or an unmarried father who would like to know more about how to get Parental Responsibility, ask your local
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Citizen's Advice Bureau
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Law Center/Solicitor
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County or Magistrates Court
If you have a Social Worker or Court Welfare Officer you can ask them to help you, especially if court proceedings are involved.
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