Staying Involved in a Child's School Activities

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As a single dad it’s even harder, since you want to make the most of the time with your kids rather than pestering them for information about school – although, of course, you want to know if there’s a problem there, so you can do something about it.

But even as a single dad you can be more involved if you choose to be, and as a good father, you will certainly want to be. In many ways it becomes a parenting issue, as school is the main component of childhood these days.

The Responsibilities of Schools

If you have Parental Responsibility for your children as defined under the Children Act 1989, you have a Right To Be Kept Informed About Your Child, and this includes taking part in all the decisions regarding their education. That’s not just good parenting, it’s the law.

You have the right as a parent to receive information from the school, including attendance and performance reports on your children, to give permission as the father for trips and other activities, to participate in school activities and to be told about any meetings at school that involve your children.

If your ex hasn’t given information about you to the school, you can contact them directly, after which they have to provide you with information. In the case of school trips, permission has to come from both parents, and if only one gives permission, to stop possible conflicts, the child won’t be allowed to go. The school is also obliged to inform both parents when the child is ill or has medical issues.

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How To Be More Involved As a Single Dad

If you’re on good terms with your ex, you could attend school meetings or parent’s evenings in her place, to talk to the teachers and get a good assessment of how your children are doing. You could also attend things like sports day or pick up the kids from school sometimes, which will be a perfect chance to talk to them about what’s been happening while it’s still fresh in their minds.

However, if you and your ex are not on good terms, it becomes a little more difficult. Talking to your kids about school is good when you’re a single dad, but even if they expand their answers, you’re only going to get one side of the story.

Talk to the school and see if you can arrange meetings with the teachers to discuss the progress of your kids. It shows that you’re involved as a parent – as you undoubtedly are. But although fathers have traditionally been less involved in the education of children, leaving it to the wives and partners, a single father has to be more pro-active.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Letter Builder lets you generate a professional letter to your ex, solicitor or school. Takes 2 minutes. Try it now →