Hallo,
I've had to submit a formal complaint to my son's school (despite it being rated 'excellent' by OFSTED). That's because, as a non-resident parent, I constantly have to chase up information about my son's education, and fight to be consulted as well as informed. Alas, it is a fight, because my son's resident mum will do nothing to support my engagement with the school - she wants all the influence. This will not change in the short or medium term, as I am currently in a court battle with her to secure a greater level of access to my child.
I have legal parental responsibility for my child, and am his biological dad, so there are no issues there. The school assumes that all its policies and procedures automatically cater for non-resident parents - or indeed, any parent in any scenario. Yet I don't receive school letters, and have no day to day engagement with the school in the way a resident parent might, because I'm not dropping off or collecting my child each day.
Have any other non-resident parents had this problem, and if so, what did you do? Does anyone know of any schools who excel / do well in terms of how they engage non-resident parents? I'd love to be able to present my son's school with productive examples of what other schools have done to ensure all their parents feel equally informed and consulted.
Many thanks for taking the time to read.
That must be extremely frustrating for you. I might try writing to the Chairman of the Governors about it and asking what the school's policy is on providing reports etc for non resident parents with parental responsibility.
I believe that the role of schools in supporting children from divorced families is crucial because children spend most of their day at school.