Ex forbidding school move.

[Keeptrudging]

Posting on behalf of a family member as I'm in Scotland & don't know the law in England!

Long story short, a family member and her young child in England are being threatened with homelessness (landlord selling). She's frantically looking for somewhere else to stay. There's nothing affordable where she is. She wants to move within a 30 minute radius of where she is now. Ex is saying she's not allowed to move their child's school, he's informed the school in writing too.

Is it true that he can stop her moving/moving child's school? Mother doesn't drive. He's saying if they're made homeless the child will have to go and stay with him. Can she move house/school within a reasonable distance (Dad drives), if the alternative is being on the streets? She's not trying to stop contact, just find somewhere safe to stay. He's not father of the year, but does have regular contact.

You could repost in Legal but I believe he’s correct. She wouldn’t be happy with him changing their shared child's school without her agreement. If they’re both on the birth certificate they both have equal parental responsibility.

Because this is what's already in place I think he can do this, but she could get permission from court to move DC. I don't know if they'd agree. She'd need to apply for a specific issue order (SIO), go to court and show the move was in DC best interests.

https://anthonygold.co.uk/latest/blog/specific-issue-order-guide

there is a lot of dramatic language in the post. Don’t think it is helpful to the main issue which is the welfare of the children.

This person has been given notice on their rented accommodation. Not a great position to be in but the catastrophisation to being on the streets is a bit much. The use of forbidding does this as well

The mother needs to inform the father of her situation and why she may need to move. Then they need to decide what this means for the children. A school move should be avoided for their sake. The father maybe isn’t right to be inflexible but a lot depends on how this is being presented to him. I would tell your friend to cut back on the hyperbole and dramatics. It would suggest she is exaggerating everything including the availability of affordable housing.

Agree with pp
id also add, assuming he has parental responsibility I don’t think she can move schools without agreement of other parent

she needs to learn to drive too- will be a nightmare not to as child grows up and wants to go to sports/club’s/friends

Neither of them can change school without the consent of the other. If she really needs to move away and believes a school move is in the best interests of the child she can apply to court for a specific issue order.

The fact he's in a position to house the child full time strengthens his case too. Doesn't help her though - she just needs to find alternative accommodation, I've had the situation where my landlord sold and we simply rented somewhere else.

He has every right to do that unfortunately. She'd have to go to court but honestly they'd look in his favour as she's about to be homeless and he can provide a stable home environment for her. Both parties need to consent to change schools also

We don't know the full picture here but on the face of it, the dad is correct. If she is renting privately there is always a risk of being served notice at any point, she cannot expect her child to move schools every time this happens if she can't quite afford the area they are in. If the dad has a more stable situation it might be better that the child primarily lives with him and sees the mother on weekends if she lives too far from the current school. As long as there isn't a history of abuse or abandonment from the dad the court will look at what is better for the child and staying at the current school will be a priority.

Thanks for replies. I posted as I didn't really understand the law with regard to this. There is no intention of moving far, the area child's school is in isn't great, but housing is in short supply. Moving to one of the neighbouring areas (within 10 miles) would open up multiple decent schools, plus more affordable housing. There is a history of controlling/abusive behaviour on his part, hence the 'ex' part, this situation is giving him a lot of power to control things again. It's not being dramatic/hyperbolic, there's a genuine risk here of homelessness as not everyone has a huge financial safety net. That doesn't mean the child would be better off with the father.

Is the abuse documented?

Not in a way that would count, I don't think, i.e. no police reports etc.

Hi, I saw your post when looking for advice regarding my DS school. I am in a similar situation having moved 10 miles away. There was a history of emotional abuse and hence leaving. Luckily I drive but I have to drive my son 25 minutes one way for him to get to school now and I have DS the majority of the time. I asked ex if he would consider moving DS school so that it would be mutually convenient for us both and means DS doesn’t have to have a long journey to and from school. Did you get your situation sorted in the end and what happened with the school?