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I am in the process of contacting my childs school in the hope of having reports etc sent to be as a NON resident father...
What do I need to supply to prove I have parental responsibility?
I was married to her mum when she was born. Will her birth certificate be ok or would a marriage certificate or divorce certificate be better??
She was born late 2003 just before the law changed.
Thanks
Hi Gaz,
I have asked the Childrens legal centre to pop by and respond to this for you.
Cheers mate
Gooner
A father will have parental responsibility if he was married to the mother of the children, has a parental responsibility order or an agreement, and if the father is on the birth certificate after December 2003. In your case the birth certificate and marriage certificate should be enough.
If a parent has parental responsibility they can request the child’s educational; record in writing under the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulation 2005, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. My advice would be to write to the school stating that you have parental responsibility and want the child’s educational records, without providing any evidence.
If the school want evidence then they will request this from you, and it could include a copy of the child’s birth certificate. Alternatively they may confirm this with the parental responsibility holder on their records.
If refused access then you should contact the information commissioner’s office and make a complaint as the school will be in breach.
In relation to picking your child from school it is important to ensure that this is pre-arranged and that the school are also aware. Any confrontation will not be in the child’s interest and furthermore the child’s mother might apply for a prohibited steps order. If the matter ever went to court, the judge will want to see that you have acted reasonable and in the child’s best interest.
Hi, you can prove you have parental responsibility by ordering your own copy of your child's birth certificate for £7.50. Thats what I did and it worked 😀 D
Thankyou for your answers - I wanted to get a letter to my daughters school as soon as I could (just to make them aware that she may be upset at me suspending contact - god knows how her mother explained it to her!)... and to make them aware I want reports etc sent to me now. So on childrenslegalcentre advice have done so without sending proof for the moment
I only have a divorce certificate but have ordered a birth certificate (and marriage) but couldnt afford the quick delivery option (£25 +) so wouldnt have received them for a while on snail delivery (£7.50)!
Thanks Richfrost - have ordered my own copy now.
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