Moving DD to different school if dad disagrees (divorced)

[HaveAQuestion]

Separated 3 yrs ago, divorce finalised 1 yr ago. DD started school where we used to live (her dad still does). I am resident parent.

Applied for a place at my local school for start of Y1 but by time places were allocated there weren't a space any more so left her where she was.

She is now in Y2 which means at the end of the year she has to move schools as she is at an infant school.

School I would love her to go to - small class sizes, good Ofsted and good feel currently has spaces so feel like I should jump at the chance now but I know her dad will kick up a stink.

Can he stop me though?

TIA

If he has PR and you cannot agree between you he can apply for a court order to make you put his choice of school as first preference. That doesn't mean he will succeed - that depends on the facts of the case.

If the father has PR both parents have equal responsibility and rights to carry out their responsibilities so important decisions such as changing schools need to be agreed. When no agreement is reached as prh47bridge said a court application can be made to prevent the move or for the change to be reversed. Acting unilaterally and not respecting the other parent's responsibility and rights could leave you on the back foot if the father starts court proceedings.

The alternative and more positive way to resolve the dispute I would have thought would be for you to apply for a Specific Issue Order and ask the court to grant permission for a change of school.

Thank you. I'm not trying to be difficult but I have another child who spends 6 hours a week in his car seat just to get her to school and back and it affects my ability to work/earn and when my son goes to nursery I cannot physically be in 2 different towns at the same town so I'm left with little choice.

Apart from consulting a solicitor which I can't afford to do at the moment, where can I find out more about a Specific Issue order?

Thank you very much.

The book "Family Courts Without a Family Lawyer" by Lucy Reed contains a lot of useful information about court procedures and the application form C100, leaflets CB1/CB3 and the list of court fees EX50 are all available to download from the Ministry of Justice website. The fee is listed under Children Act 1989 section 8 orders and is currently £215.

If you have no/low income you may be eligible for a remission of the court fees (application Form Ex160 an notes) YOu can ask court staff to help check you have the right forms or filled in the correct parts but they can't say anything which might be construed as legal advice.

There is a requirement that in most cases for the applicant to set up a Mediation Information & Assessment Meeting before the courts will hear a case. YOu could set that up with an accredited mediator before applying to court in the hope the father would attend and the issue can be resolved without involving the court. If not the mediator will complete form FM1 which can be sent to court along with the application.

Thank you. I am going to approach him and go from there. Don't want to battle over it!

Another thing to consider is that now she lives with you she possibly won't be able to get a place in the original town anyway due to distance. Might be worth coming at it from that angle. Also point out the amount of time she spends travelling. You may find he is less willing to take her to parties etc if she is with him on weekends but her friends are near you.

To pick up on the point made by 3birthdaybunnies, you must apply for places through your current LA using your current address assuming you are the main carer. If there is no realistic chance of getting a place at a school where you used to live you can safely put your ex's choice of school first and your choice second. That would keep your ex happy and would not damage your chances of getting a place at your preferred school.

do you eman a place has come up at your local school so you want ehr to change mid year ?

If she is coming to the end of her infants placement then presumably you are all having to formally apply for next places at whatever school, yes? If so I would put your first choice down as your first choice and his as your second choice. Look up the admission rules on the schools' websites and the LA website - it is highly likely due to distance she wouldn't get it anyway unless attendance at the infants school pushed her higher up the priority list for places in the juniors. I absolutely wouldn't put his choice first and yours second - if your preferred choice fills up with first choices then there is no guarantee they will even look at second choices.

if your preferred choice fills up with first choices then there is no guarantee they will even look at second choices.

That isn't how admissions work. You do not get any priority for naming a school as first choice. A school cannot fill up with first choices without looking at second choices. That is the law.

Assuming the school uses distance as a tie breaker, if you name a school as your second preference you are ahead of everyone who lives further away and is in the same admission category even if they named it as their first preference.

The order of your preferences only comes into play if you qualify for offers from two schools, in which case you will get an offer from whichever you named as a higher preference. You do not reduce your chances of getting into a particular school by making it your second preference. The only way you can miss out on a school by making it your second preference is if you get a place at your first preference.

DD goes to school in town A where our family home was. Ex-H still lives there. That council operates infant, then primary. We live in town B which does First school i.e. up to Yr 4.

Ideally I would like to move her for September so she completes Infant school, but seeing as it's not a set change time here in town B it would have to be done as an In year transfer so I have no guarantee that there would be a space hence contemplating moving her now mid year while there is a space.

Is it against the law for him to put his address on the application form if I have the majority of residency then? He has told me he wants her to go to the Juniors there and have even selected the secondary he wants to attend based on their Ofsted report - 5 years before she is de to attend!!! face palm

So grateful for all your help!

It varies from LA to LA (and sometimes from school to school). Some will allow the parents to choose which address to use if there is shared care but that is fairly rare. Most will want the address where the child wakes up most weekdays or the address used for child benefit. If you use the wrong address the LA could treat it as a fraudulent application. That won't mean they will throw it out completely but it does mean your daughter could lose any place offered even after she starts at the school concerned.

Thank you. Have emailed the admissions team to ask.