Please help mumsnetters, I don't really know who to turn to. My DS is 3 1/2. I never lived with his dad and the break up was simply awful before I realised I was even pg with DS. He was and still is, an emotional cripple, a control freak and downright evil when it came to revenge. I found out I was pregnant about three weeks after we split up and his reaction was, in the first instance to say that I had to terminate because it would ruin his plans for his life, and then in the second instance, to try to map out exactly what he would "get" (supposedly contact wise etc) over the next 18 yrs. Initially we had an arrangement for him to see DS every 2 weeks, but he constantly wanted to change the date or time depending on whether he had another "engagement". Because I stuck to my guns that DS should come before anything else apart from emergency situations or illness for example, he gave up the ghost and disappeared when DS was 5 months old to go travelling. He said he was going to try to get residency in Australia and never come back. I got on with things, worked 8 hr days to support us both and made myself very ill with having a child that didn't and still doesn't sleep! He suddenly came back and started seeing DS when he was 2 with my agreement but because this child didn't know who he was I refused his requests from the outset for him to take DS away on his own for whole days at a time. I was allowing him to see DS in my home for up to 8 hours, practically spending the whole day with us, as long as he didn't start with the threats and intimidation again. I just wanted DS to get to know his father. Apart from that xdp lives about 2 1/2 hrs drive away and doesn't have anywhere to take him.Needless to say, after only 5 visits he started with the threats to take me to court if I didn't agree to his timetable of increasing contact, which really meant that he wanted to take DS some 2 1/2 hrs away for whole weekends after a four month period. If I didn't agree he would take me to court. He has, and since May the contact at a contact centre has increased from 1 hr to 3 hours now unsupervised. He got Parental responsibility at court. I didn't fight it as I knew it would be futile. I believe he is totally irresponsible and can list a number of things that he has done with him which I believe put him in danger or at least do not go towards making DS a sensible individual. The latest of which is teaching him how to "headbutt" and driving him on a public road with DS sitting on his lap. I'm furious but the courts just say, "I'm sure knows that he should be sensible with DS". It's now time for me to fill in the forms for applying for a place at school when he's 5. I do not speak to xdp, he does not have a home telephone number for me and has been advised by my solicitor not to contact me. He was previously harrassing me on the phone at work and at all times of the day and night. He tape records conversations that we do have and I'm scared (not physically) to be anywhere near him. Prior to the contact centre I had to have someone with me when he visited DS because of the intimidation. Parental responsibility means I'm supposed to contact him and "discuss" which schools we should be looking at for DS. But he doesn't know my area, doesn't know DS's friends, local reputation of the schools, he hasn't got the issue of childcare options to worry about and certainly doesn't pay for it. He doesn't support DS full stop. I haven't had a penny since DS was 5 months old even though he's got his own business. What will happen if I just fill out the application form and tell him afterwards? Can the courts really hold this against me? I can't in any way shape or form visit schools with him in tow to pretend to be the united front. Even if he visited schools on his own, independantly from me, that would mean I have conversed with him in some way to get to that stage. I just can't. What does he know about where we live and what the factors are. There's no way I'm going to choose a bad school for my son. Currently two family members help in looking after him outside of nursery hours and they're local teachers. They KNOW the local schools and are in a good position to advise. What should I do? Please help! I'm sorry if this was a bit 'round the houses!