Do schools have a duty to inform parents about events?

[longdiling]

So two parents are divorced and have joint custody. One parent does all school pick ups while the drop offs are shared. The parent doing pick ups gets all letters etc but never informs the other parent of any upcoming events. School assure other parent they will let him know what's happening independently. They don't though. Other parent has missed a vital meeting, nearly missed sports day and now missed a leavers assembly. What duty does the school have to ensure BOTH parents are kept informed.

[Yokohamajojo]

Our school has NOT got a website with information, so no not all schools do but they are on the texting parents thingy and email the newsletter. I am sure if I told our school to also add DH number they will do, surely that would be the easiest option! Ask your brother to set up a meeting with the school secretary and/or head!

[minionmadness]

I think you've been given some good advice here and your DB needs to address directly with the school. I appreciate he already has but whatever he has done is not having the desired effect. If this where me I would take a different stance with the school by putting his complaint in writing and requesting a written response from the school stating how they intend to put this right in the future.

In my experience when there is a paper trail people are less likely to shirk their responsibilities.

[longdiling]

They do have his current contact details, he has checked and rechecked this. Two letters home still relies on the ex ensuring she passes his set on which she is under no obligation to do.

[mrz]

We send texts to every number we have registered (of course many parents don't think to inform us of change of number). We send home two copies of letters with children who we know have separated parents (of course we don't always have information about absent parents). We post out important information to the home address (of course parents don't always inform us when they move). Finally we publish dates on the school web site (which could be argued is all that is required to fulfil the guidance).

[longdiling]

Thank you all so much, this information is really helpful. I like the stamped addressed envelope idea for written correspondence. Hopefully he can work with the school to get this sorted once and for all come September.

[MidniteScribbler]

All of our documentation is handed out to the students to take home. We will provide two copies if required, but it's up to the student and their parent to hand that form/sheet/flyer to the other parent. Where we have a few issues with parents not sharing the information, the other parent provides us with a packet of self addressed and stamped envelopes. A copy of all documentation will then be posted out to that parent.

[overthemill]

I think the guidance issued to schools suggests they should make sure all parents are informed. We used to ask each new school for,2 copies of everything plus an email. It was a hassle to start with but got easier as they got used to it. One school point blank refused but soon did it when I sent them a copy of guidance highlighted so they could see they had to do it. It's a bit more work but really not that much for them.

[prh47bridge]

If I can use an analogy to make it clearer, it is a bit like car lights. There is no legal requirement for a car to be fitted with reversing lights at all. However, if your car has reversing lights there is a legal requirement that they must work.

Similarly there is no legal requirement to write to parents about the school play but, if you do, you must write to both parents and anyone else with PR, not just to the parent with care.

[prh47bridge]

the only specific legal duty is an obligation to keep parents informed about their child's progress

There are two separate legal requirements here.

You are correct that the only communications specifically required by law are to keep parents informed of their child's progress.

There is a separate requirement that any communication that is sent must be supplied to both parents and anyone else with PR regardless of whether or not that communication is legally required. So, for example, there is no legal requirement to tell parents about the school play and invite them to buy tickets, but any communications about the play that are sent must be supplied to both parents and both must be given an equal chance to buy tickets.

[PeruvianFoodLover]

Schools (not necessarily teachers) must keep all parents informed of any elections for parent Govenror positions, notify all parents if the school is subject to an inspection and share Inspection reports with all parents.

These are set out in a variety of obscure Governance-related legislation!

[mrz]

Prh47 could you please link to the relevant information detailing what information must be shared with parents ?

The legal advice from teaching unions is that the only the only specific legal duty is an obligation to keep parents informed about their child's progress ... Is this incorrect?

[clam]

If a child is absent, and on the non-parentmail list, I'll put their name at the top of a newsletter (or anything equally important) and put it in my pending tray for when they return. Anything else, and I'd expect the office to deal with it, as I'm a teacher, not a postman. Junk mail (and there's loads of that) and they take their chances - I'm not chasing kids around to force those on them.

[PeruvianFoodLover]

clam how do you ensure that the parents whose DCs are off sick on a particular day get the info? What about DCs who are taught off-site? DCs who are in occasional/weekend foster care?

Schools should have procedures that accommodate the variety of living/care arrangements that their pupils may have; stuffing a flier in the book bags of young children and hoping it gets to the correct carer at the correct time is not meeting the needs of the DCs and their families.

[clam]

We have loads of correspondence that goes out each week to classes. As much as possible goes via email in an attempt to minimise paper consumption, but there are numerous other flyers. It would be a nightmare having to send some kids (which ones???) out with two of everything, when even getting them to pick up one and not drop it in the cloakroom is hard enough.

I thought that the school's responsibility re: info was mainly to do with reports and notification of parents' evening???

[PeruvianFoodLover]

If the school is not fulfilling its duty to keep both sets of parents informed then he should raise it as an issue with the governers of the school.

Please don't do this!

If you have an issue with the procedures or an individual within the school, it MUST be addressed using the schools official complaints procedure.

Not only will correspondence with the Governors be ignored if it is not in line with the school complaints policy, you risk tainting the Govenrors and preventing them from fulfilling their role at the appropriate time in the process if it cannot be resolved at an earlier stage.

Yes, this issue does warrant a formal complaint as informal requests have failed - but if it's not followed properly, then the OPs brother won't secure the outcome he wants.

[Cedar03]

If the school is not fulfilling its duty to keep both sets of parents informed then he should raise it as an issue with the governers of the school. They ought to be able to review their communication methods - he won't be the only parent at the school in this situation. He should push for them to adopt things like parentmail - at least that way they all get the email.

[Several parents were outside our school this morning sounding completely blank about a whole school activity today even though it has appeared in the newsletter, on the website and parentmail].

[Fizrim]

It could be that the school sometimes just uses paper notes in the bookbag rather than the text/email system.

[longdiling]

Thank you prh47 - that really is very helpful to know the school have a legal responsibility. I'll let him know when I see him tomorrow.

[lem73]

He's too clever to create scenes at school Alice. It's been mainly when he's taken the kids on days out that it all seems to get out of control. However he's managed to persuade the head and school secretary that he's a loving dad and my friend has taken the break up badly and is poisoning the kids. I feel the school should be a safe place for the kids and the school shouldn't facilitate contact until a court order is in place.

[prh47bridge]

Can I remind you of my previous post. As he has PR the school does have a legal responsibility to keep him informed. All those saying it isn't the schools problem are wrong. Schools have been given clear guidance on this issue from the DfE.

lem73 - If your friend wants to stop the school communicating with her ex she needs to go to court and get an appropriate order in place. Unless she does the school has no choice.

[longdiling]

Lem, that sounds tough. I think she probably needs to get some proper legal advice on this one. I'm not sure how she can stop communication between the school and a parent without some kind of legal order in place?

[longdiling]

Thanks Jessie, he hasn't got to know the other parents as well as his ex due to the fact that he's the working parent. I have wondered about suggesting he sets up a Facebook group for parents at the school to share info. We have one set up by parents for our school and it's an absolute lifesaver for those of us who struggle to keep up with events or who work. People tend to post pictures of letters they receive for those who haven't got them.

Thanks Peruvian, he has two in secondary and the kids themselves have been good at passing things on to him. It's the Primary school that's been the issue and he still has a few left there so it'll be a problem for a while unless he gets it sorted in September.

And thanks so much Unwilling! I know there are some feckless Dads out there but my brother isn't one of them. He wants to be equally involved and needs to find a way to escalate this with the school but wasn't sure of his rights. He is so not the expecting to be spoonfed type. He's actually pretty bloody amazing.

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

lem if he is creating scenes at school, the school has a duty of care towards the children. I would think the mother needs to speak to a solicitor to see what legally can and can't be done, and the school needs to clarify with their legal advisors what they can do as well. I imagine initially they may have to take a hard line with the father - allowing him to come to the events, but escorting him out each and every time he creates a disruptive scene, documenting each time, and then taking it from there.

The teachers, on the other hand, should not be offering their "advice" on it to the children. That's pushy and amounts to emotional blackmail which is not good for the children.

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

I get that she is trying to help him. But he needs to help himself. He's apparently spoken to the school 3 times now, according to the OP. So now he needs to take it a step further, as I said. He needs to put it in writing. He needs to be proactive. Ring the school regularly if need be. Follow up with an email. Someone's already said if he has PR then yes the school needs to keep him informed, as long as they have the correct contact info. Then he needs to make sure they have it, and put all this in writing to the school. If he ever wants to push further and make a complaint, he needs a paper trail. But it's something he's going to have to put the effort into. The OP can't do it for him, hence why I asked if he was doing any follow up.

[lem73]

Don't want to hijack the thread but what should a school do if children do NOT want a parent to attend school events. My friend's ex walked out on her six months ago and they haven't sorted out custody arrangements yet but the kids absolutely do not want to see their dad. There have been some horrible scenes with him and they are in quite a fragile state. However the school keep telling the ex about school events so he shows up. It totally spoils it for them. I think not allowing the kids to have control over their dad showing up is adding to their stress. The teachers however keep saying stuff like 'your daddy loves you, he wants to see you' and sorting out tickets for school productions. I totally agree it would be healthier for the kids to see and communicate with their dad but surely it is not the school's job to facilitate it? Again sorry to hijack. I am interested in people's perspectives.