Can I be blocked from private school now?

[greenak]

Wondering if I put DS’s dad on the birth certificate, could he stop me sending him to private school? I am resident parent. I realise he can try for 50-50 but I accept that. I just don’t want him to force ds into a state system. I have the funds to pay the fees but me and ex have very different political views and I know he wouldn’t choose it. Can he stop me?

Has this child even been born yet?

@Soontobe60 yes he’s 3 and due to go to school next September. Ex has only just been able to go on the certificate as previously lived abroad (even when I gave birth).

He can go to court and put his preference forward for any school but doesn't mean it will go ahead.

As long as you fill in the forms so that only you are financially liable then I'd imagine most courts will see private as the best interest for the child.

if you put him on the birth certificate he will share parental responsibility with you and will be entitled to share equally in all decisions regarding your DS; including what school he goes to. But if you do not grant him parental responsibility he can apply to the Court to be granted it in any event. The bar for the grand of PR is quite low. You need to consider things a bit more holistically; whether it is best for your DS's father to have PR for him and what the likelihood would be of him applying to the Court for an order if you do not grant it.

@LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood thanks, I am aware of this. That’s why I am co operating to allow him on it. I just want to know if he can stop ds going to private school.

He could apply for a prohibitive steps order but unless it affected his contact time or he was expected to pay I think he'd be laughed out of court!

Have you court ordered contact arrangements that state you are the "resident" parent?

@RandomMess not officially but he’s only seen ds once every two weeks since 4 months old so it’s pretty much standard that he lives with me. I realise he can apply for 50-50 but he hasn’t mentioned wanting that

That's not true.

He can apply to court to challenge any educational decisions. That's his right.

Private school will not be automatically thought of as best for the child. It will hang on a variety of different factors - distance, work patterns, finances, any additional needs, family support etc....all of which would be taken into account and the judge decide accordingly. The family court is a law unto itself and you could easily get a judge on the day who is persuaded the other way.

If I was you I would try to come to an amicable agreement wherever possible and ime FC often sides with men.

Is it a crime to want to help your child. Just because most cant doesn’t mean the few shouldn’t

@Howbizarre22 helpful, thanks

Would he feel strongly enough to take it to court?

@StormingNorman not sure. He has the money to.

@DontYouLetItGo as I said in my OP, he is going on it. I want to know if he can then stop our son being privately educated.

So much bollocks, so little time...

Ooh the MRA’s are here with their misogynistic comments

If the child is settled in school no judge is going to pull them out for another school just for the sake of it

Court will want the child to go to the school that is best for the child. If you can convince court that the best school for the child's needs matches your preference, then the child can go to that school.

If it gets to the point of a court order and child's dad convinces the court that a different school is more appropriate, then child might have to go to dad's choice of school.

It is all about the best interest of the child.

I work in a private school with some exposure to admissions.

We require all those with parental responsibility to sign the admissions forms and are jointly and severally responsible for the fees.

Our terms and conditions are standard across the sector.

Therefore he could indeed stop you from sending your child to private school if he was on the birth certificate.

Having just signed the forms to send our DD2 to private school, I can tell you that her school has required both parents to sign the forms. Not sure if this is standard for private schools, but it could definitely be a barrier to her being accepted at a school.

My private school doesn't.

To add to this, we have recently refused to accept a child where one parent (divorced) wouldn’t sign. The mother was willing to pay all fees and remain responsible for them but the father was opposed and therefore we could not allow the child to enrol.

Sounds like the most sensible thing to do is to contact your preferred school and check whether they require both parents to sign. If they do, then try to keep him off the certificate.

That’s very unusual - not impossible of course but it is the norm to expect all with PR to agree.