NAHT advice on parental conflict
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) have this to say about dealing with Parental Conflict:
Dealing with the fallout from family breakups is an increasing part of the workload for school leaders, particularly those in primary schools. These situations have the potential to become both time-consuming and messy, particularly if they are not handled well from the outset.
And they have produced a PDF Guidance document for reference (although this looks like it was last updated some time ago):
In this document the NAHT start by saying:
Dealing with the fallout from family breakups is an increasing part of the workload for school leaders, particularly those in primary schools. These situations have the potential to become both time-consuming and messy, particularly if they are not handled well from the outset.
The NAHT’s team of specialist advisers regularly take calls from school leaders who have inadvertently found themselves embroiled, often as a result of trying to be helpful.
This guidance is intended to help school leaders avoid such problems by being fully aware of legal requirements, best practice, and the experience of others. Ensuring your school has good procedures in place will avert many problems, as will awareness of the right steps to take in certain situations.
It is worth remembering that a large body of research shows that children’s education will benefit if both parents remain involved in their learning . So not only is it the legal right of both parents to be kept informed about their child’s education, but doing so may ultimately enhance their child’s progress.
It is worth remembering, too, that sometimes school is the only normality for children whose parents are splitting up, and that it is important for disputes and warring parents to remain outside the gates.
Finally, never forget the mantra of the NAHT’s advice team for head teachers on family breakup: don’t take sides
It is worth reading the guidance yourself, and of course providing a copy of this to any Headteacher who seems unaware of their responsibilities to all parents of a child at their school.
In a Family Law system designed for combative parents there is no real allowance for the views of children and any understanding of how Family Law ultimately impacts on children most of all.
We speak for the children in Family Law so that, finally, the children have a voice.