[Solved] my ex isn't educating my daughter what can I do?

Hi there.

My ex and I looked into home education a long time ago for our son but decided against it. If your ex isn't meeting the criteria, she shouldn't be able to do this for long without it being picked up. The LEA does have criteria to meet and some of this is explained here

https://www.gov.uk/home-education

Do you have Parental Responsibility for your daughter? If so, you have a right to be involved in decisions regarding your child's education. Ultimately, it may require a Specific Issue application to the court but I would start by speaking with the LEA if you have PR.

If you keep your daughter with you, as you say, you would be in breach of the order and your ex can apply for an emergency hearing and have her returned to her. Whilst I agree, it sounds like she is not meeting your daughter's needs educationally, you need to go through the right channels.

I agree, the education system is a farce full of double standards. Luckily, due to your daughter's young age, if you are going to fight this to have her attend school again, she should catch up again quite quickly.

Good luck

Thank you for your enquiry.

Before we are able to advise you fully we have to establish if you have Parental Responsibility for your daughter. You would have Parental Responsibility for your daughter if:
• You were married to the mother at the time of your daughter’s birth; or
• You subsequently married the mother after the birth of your daughter; or
• You are named on your daughter’s birth certificate and your daughter was born after 1 December 2003; or
• You have entered into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother; or
• You had a Parental Responsibility Order granted in your favour by the courts; or
• You had had residence of your daughter awarded in your favour through a Residence or Child Arrangement Order by the courts.
Having Parental Responsibility would mean you would have equal legal rights for your daughter along with the mother. In practice this means that you will have a right to a say in key decisions in your daughter’s life such as education.

It is the duty of the child's parents, under section 7 of the Education Act 1996, to ensure that their child receives efficient full-time education suitable to her age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs she may have. This does not have to be achieved through sending a child to school and can be satisfied through home education.

Under education law, it is possible for only one parent to choose to deregister a child to home educate. It often depends on the Local Education Authority whether they will allow this if the other parent opposes deregistration. The Local Education Authority is not bound to act on a parent’s wishes, but to have regard to:

‘the general principle that pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents, so far as that is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure.'

Where there is a dispute between those with Parental Responsibility about schooling, it is possible to make a court application to resolve the issue. An insufficient education can be a welfare concern. The first step we would advise you to take is to try and come to an agreement about education with the mother through mediation. Under the Children and Families Act 2014 it is a legal requirement to attempt this before you make any application to court. For more information on mediation and for help organising it you can contact National Family Mediation on 03004000636.

If mediation is not successful then your next step would be to apply to court for a Specific Issue Order for your daughter to be educated at school. This application would be made using a C100 form, available from your local Family Court or online at www.justice.gov.uk. There are two further guidance leaflets, CB1 and CB3, which will assist with this form. In deciding on whether or not to issue such an order the court will base their decision on what they feel is in the best interests of your daughter’s welfare and in doing so they will consider the welfare checklist:

• Wishes and feelings of the child (weight given to these feelings depends on the age of the child, more weight being given to a child over the age of 11).
• Childs physical, emotional and educational needs.
• Effect of any change on the child.
• The age, [censored] and background of the child.
• Any harm which the child has suffered or may suffer.
• How capable each parent is of meeting the Childs needs.
The fee for this application to court would be £215. However if you are on a low income or in receipt of benefits you may be eligible for a full or partial fee exemption and should consult the fee exemption form EX160A, again available from the same sources as above.

Standards expected from home education

A parent who wishes to educate his child otherwise than at school must be able to satisfy the Local Education Authority that she is complying with her duty under the Education Act 1996, section 7.

The Local Education Authority has a duty to monitor those children being home educated and may make informal enquiries about the education a child is receiving. The Local Education Authority cannot insist on inspecting a parent’s home or demand evidence in any prescribed form. If the child is not receiving a suitable education then the Local Education Authority has more formal powers available.

It is useful to refer to the government guidance on “Elective Home Education” available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education . For more detailed information on home education you can also contact Education Otherwise at www.education-otherwise.net and on 08454786345.

If you were to keep your daughter with you then you will be acting in breach of the Contact Order that is in place. If you were to take this step the mother can apply to have the order enforced and have the daughter returned to her and you may face possible sanctions. If you feel that having your daughter live with you is in her best interests then you would have to apply for variation of your order. You can do this using the same C100 form as explained above. It is possible to apply for a Specific Issue Order and for variation using the same C100 form.

If you require any further advice please do not hesitate to contact us. Our advice line phone service on 08088020008 is available Mon-Fri between 8:00-20:00.