Wierd response from school?

Hi all

As part of my partners case, he wrote to his daughters school as there have been issues where she had to be referred to specialist teams and had serious attendance and lateness issues.

A couple of months ago they happily provided the info that he asked for, with no issues as they have a copy of her birth certificate and were happy that he has PR

This time, he has a letter which says that as his daugthers mother volunteers there, and he used the last school report to support his residency app, which is something the head doesnt neccesarily agree with, the school feel unable to give him information about her attendance etc as they would be seen as taking sides!

I thought they were obliged to provide this??

They are obliged to give it although a certain amount of notice should be given.

They certainly don't have to take sides........ they can supply the information to both of you!!

If you have parental responsibility and no court orders against you preventing contact etc then the school legally has to supply you with relevant information regarding your child. That means attendance information, school reports, details of parents evenings etc.

If you have no success with the headteacher, go to your Governing Body.

Good luck!

Yep. I concur with Blackie. As parents you are both entitled to receive all information pertaining to your children- even "nit" letters(which appear with depressing frequency! )
I would ask to speak to the Head and put forward your viewpoint calmly and politely. Have the salient points you wish to address, printed out and hand to the Head,(cc. the Governing body and the Education Department of the local county council.) Annotate and date everything and ask for minutes of the meeting to be recorded and for a copy to be given to you.
By all means inform the Chair of Govs but be aware that in some schools (and please note that I said SOME, not all)the Governoring Body can be little more than a showcase for the Head and they may not give you the impartiality which you so rightly should expect.
TBH I would also ask for the Teacher Governor to be present at the meeting as he/she will be very aware of parental rights.
If you have no joy ,then make a formal complaint to your local county council- be prepared to pursue your rights and keep in constant touch with all involved so that your concerns and possible paperwork pertaining to your request are not lost!
Good Luck!

This outlines the information that schools are legally obliged to provide for parents, separated or not;

Schools must give you a written report on your child at least once a year. This must include:

* progress on all the National Curriculum subjects they have studied
* progress in other subjects and activities
* general progress and attendance
* results in any National Curriculum tests and assessments



All state schools must keep educational records on their pupils. These should include:

* copies of the reports you will have been sent on their achievements, as well as other records about those achievements
* exchanges of correspondence you have had with the school
* any information the school has on your child's education from the local authority

There may be other records kept, like details of exclusions, behaviour and family background, but this is not compulsory. The educational record does not include the notes that a teacher makes for his or her own use only.

Legally, you have the right to a copy of your child's school record within 15 school days of you writing to ask for it. If you have asked for a copy, the school may make a small charge for the cost of copying.

However, some information can’t be shown or given to you or your child. This might be because the school thinks it might harm the child or another person in some way. If the school decides to do this, you can ask them to explain why.


My emphases.


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/ParentsRights/DG_4002948< /a>

Thanks - he called and spoke to the head on friday afternoon, who said she was immediately writing to him again, and that it was a new admin asst that had got things mixed up!

She also said that his daughter has been seen by an educational psychologist who has concerns, speech and behaviour therapise who has concerns, and that she has now only 82% attendance, and when she is there she is late 50% of those occasions and then is falling asleep in lessons saying she is tired because the baby screams all night and mummy doesnt get up to her, then she said they tried to address the attendacne issue with his ex, but she isnt really engaging with them - she said she would confirm all in writing and he is welcome to go into school so he made an appt to see her on Thursday this week.

Will Cafcass see this as supporting his argument that his ex is not looking after their daughter properly?

Well the appt went really well. Her reason for thier daughter being late so much is that apprently when she leaves her to go and sort the baby out, the daughter undresses herself again so this makes them late.....

Theyre now threatening her about the attendance, as two occasions were unauthorised as well for a wedding that she was refused permission for.

Next hearing is 15th Feb, and we have everything crossed that because Cafcass wont be providing their report as they should be, that the judge will issue an interim contact order...