Hi all,
I'm in a bit of a dilemma, I live in London and was at the in laws (Oxford) last weekend. My wife and I had a big argument and she refused to come back with me to London, I couldn't stay that night as she and her mother asked me to leave. I have found out from my mother last night that she is planning to admit the boys (4 & 7) to a local school there.
The boys school in London started today, I'm worried she has told the school already to take their names off from the school.
Also their religious school is starting this weekend too.
Please advise, much appreciated.
I would speak to the current school to see if they have been informed of anything, and also speak to the school that she is intending to put them in - I can't see that this is spur of the moment, so I would guess this has been planned, or at least thought about in advance. You need to sit down with your ex if possible and talk it through, or possibly involve relate (www.relate.org.uk) to see if they can assist.
It would seem unlikely that, particularly for the 7 y/o, any school would just happen to have a place available, or be able to make one available, without some form of intervention by either a multi-agency or LEA decision. It's possible, but unlikely. If your children are taken out of school without notifying the school they are at, it is a breach of (can't remember which) regulation. Under regulation 8 (1) d, you can remove your child from the school register 'on demand'. One of the reasons people may give for this is to home school them, which is allowable. They can then look about for a school elsewhere. If your wife removes the children from their school without informing the school, what will happen is that the school has to make enquiries as to their whereabouts as a duty of care and obligation to provide them with an education. . They will pass it to the Missing Education team. If, after, I think, 10 days, the child does not return and no explanation is given as to why, the child will automatically be un-enrolled. The common transfer file (CTF) will be passed to the LEA. There are partial parts of this file called the CML (for leaving) and CML (for joining a new school). Normally, what happens is that the CTF is passed to the ongoing school. Important : FIND OUT FROM YOUR SCHOOL EACH CHILDS UPN. This is their unique pupil number, which is created for each child when they start school. The school will not want to tell you what it is, but they have to. Insist. If your wife goes out of contact, you will need this to trace them through the education system. Remember: the File Follows The Child. The first part of the code is the first school they attended. It is in your interests to talk to your headmaster and express your views as to why they should not be removed from their current school. There are situations where their release is not granted, because it is not judged to be in their best interests. They, possibly with outside involvement will decide what is best for the child, or at least whether there are reasons that the children should not be moved. But - put your reasonable head on and think from the perspective of the child - always. Is it really best that they stay where they are, or is it because you don't want them to leave.