Welcome to the DAD.Info forum: We are not open to new posts at this time
Our forum aims to provide support and guidance where it can, however we may not always have the answer. The forum is not moderated 24 hours a day, so If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, if you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
If you are worried about you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please click here: How we can help
Been told my son is stopping on at school for another 2 yrs but how do i find out for definate as i dont see him to ask him ive phoned csa they told me to contact child benefit office which i have done but they tell me that they cant tell me anything as im not the claiment i dont mind paying but how can i be sure that he is stopping on at school any help please
Do you have parental responsibililty? If so, you should be able to speak to the school directly.
I'm not sure if you are able to speak to the local education authority to find out - again depends if you have PR
Anyone else help on this?
I am assuming you were married when your son was born, given that he must be about 16 if he is staying on at school for another few years. If that is so, you do have Parental Responsibility.
II suggest you write to the Education Authority and request information, confirming that you are the boy's father, that you were married but are now divorced (if that is the case). If there is no order relating to the children, they may or may not give you the information you need. They may want to see evidence of marriage and divorce.
Are you having contact with your ex, the boy's mother? I would start with asking her first of all.
If you know where your wife lives, it may just be easier to go to the local schools and see if he goes there (I mean by watching the school), if you have up-to-date photos. Ask from members of her family - or friends etc. Those are all the cheaper ways.
If you have none of the above information or contacts, I can only think that you would have to make an application to the Court.
😆 I think sitting outside all the schools and watching the children leave might be a bit risky!
I would think that if he doesn't have contact with the son it's very unlikely he has contact with the ex.
As has been said, assuming you were married you have Parental Responsibility? Not that that helps much but it does allow you to contact the Education Authority in their area and request the information.
If you weren't married then you have no rights I'm afraid, which would mean that you would have to apply to the court for Parental Responsibility. This will cost £200 but once you have this you should then be able to obtain the information from the Education Authority.
One of our members, ak57 knows a little more about writing to the Education Authority and what wording you should use. I'll ask her to drop by and give you the info 🙂
Hi thanks for all your replies no i dont see his mum or any of her family all i know is they are in the Doncaster area thats all i know i do however have PR as i said i dont mind paying but i havent seen him for 8 yrs and he is now 17
😆 NJ ...I am not surprised at what some people will do...and I get your drift!
However saying that, georgeriley, the easier option is to write to the Education Authority, even though I don't know the area...Doncaster is a big place for my suggestion!!! 😆
Hello georgeriley
I am William a Child Maintenance Option's consultant. As long as you do have parental responsibility, once you have established which school or college your son attends, you are able to contact them for written confirmation that your son is attending. If you find out that your son is no longer in education then you will also be able to ask for written confirmation that he has left.
For information on parental responsibility and the parental rights this gives you, you can find information on the Government website Gov.uk using the following link, https://www.gov.uk/parental-rights-responsibilities.
In your post you mentioned that you pay child maintenance through the Child Support Agency (CSA). The CSA rules say that child maintenance must be paid by the paying parent to the receiving parent until the child turns 16 or until they reach 20 if they are in full-time education. The definition of full-time education is more than 12 hours a week of study, on a course up to and including A level standard, or for as long as Child Benefit is being paid. It is also worth noting that when a child leaves full-time education in the summer, Child Benefit generally continues until the first week of September.
To find out more about how Child Maintenance Options can help, or for information on all the options available to put in place a child maintenance arrangement, including online tools and forms to help with family-based arrangements, you can visit our website at http://cmoptions.org. If you would prefer a friendly and confidential chat, please call us on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline).
We also have a sorting out separation web-app, it aims to make it much easier for separated parents to find the support they need, when and where they need it, and encourages parents to collaborate on a range of issues. The link is: http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation
Hope this helps.
- Samaritans – call 116 123
- Shout – text the word ‘Shout’ to 85258
