Advice for Fathers with a child at school
Schools have been at the forefront of the new world order of gender engineering. They cannot be considered in reality to be male-friendly zones. In primary schools a male presence has been vitually eliminated with the exception of the male janitor and the occaisional head master. In secondary schools this process is well under way and female teachers dominate. You should therefore approach any school with extreme caution. Do not assume these organisations are neutral. This information is taken from a DfEE leaflet Ref: 0092/2000. Copies of this are available direct from the department for Education and Employment in London.
This is the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) definition of a parent:
- All natural parents, whether married or not.
- Any person who has parental responsibility for a child (even if they are not natural parents).
- Any preson who has care of a child or young person (even if they are not natual parents).
Parental reponsibility is defined in the Children Act 1989. If a father was married when his child was born then he has automatic parental responsibility, even if divorced. If the parents of a child were not married to each other when the child was born, the mother automatically has parental responsibility, but the father does not, even if named on the birth certificate. An unmarried father can however aquire parental responsiblity by applying to the family courts. This is extremely easy if the mother consents to sign a parental responsibility application form. If she does not then the unmarried father should apply direct to the family court to obtain parental responsibility.
This is the DfEE definition of how (someone other than the childs natural parents) can aquire Parental Responsibility:
- A person who has be granted a residence order.
- A person who has been appointed a guardian
- A person named in an emergency protection order
- A person who has adopted a child
What schools should do
Everyone who is a parent (as defined above) has the right to participate in decisions about a child's education. School and LEA staff must treat all parents equally.
These are the rights of fathers and those with parental responsibility:
- To receive information from the school (e.g. governor's annual report, pupils reports and attendance records).
- To participate in activities.
- To give consent e.g. to school trips and to extra-curricular activities).
- To be told about meetings involving the child (e.g. a meeting on the child's exclusion).
This is what schools should do with their records:
- Head teachers should ask parents or guardians the names and addresses of all parents when they register a pupil. These details must be included in: the admission register, and written or computerised pupil records. These records should be available to the pupils teachers. The information should be forwarded to any achool to which the pupil moves.
- Details of court orders should also be noted in a pupils record. Such information is used to decide about parental permission for a school visit, or about being kept informed when a child is ill.
- A mother could ask a school to change a child's surname following divorce. The legal position is that she is not allowed to change the childs surname without the consent of the father or anyone else who has parental responsibility for the child. Evidence is needed for this, for example the written consent from the other parent giving consent to the surname change.
- If a father contacts a school - for example where a mother has withheld the address of the father - and requests access to information. The school should provide that information direct to the father after making sure this person is the father of the child.
This is what schools should do about school trips and medical issues:
- They must obtain the consent of both parents
- If one parent agrees and the other refuses then the school will probably decline the school trip so as not to expose itself to legal action in the event of an accident.
- Schools should keep parents informed about any illness, or accident, or emergency medical treatment. Schools are however unlikely to get involved in decisions involving surgery.
Our own concerns:
- Some schools pass on letters and information they have received from the father to the mother or to the mothers solicitor, or the LEA. We explicitly condem this behaviour and remind schools that they have a duty of confidentiality, especially in situations of separated or divorced parents.
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