Where parents live following separation can lead to be a dispute over which school a child should attend.
Parents may be living, or planning to live some distance apart from each other, to the extent that the necessary travel to get the child to school from one of the parent’s residences, will be unreasonable for the child or impractical for a parent. This is not usually a significant problem where the child lives with one parent and spends weekend time with the other parent, but it can present a significant problem where a parent is seeking an equal time arrangement, which involves both parents transporting the child to school.
“Common sense” might suggest for the parents to select a school close to the midpoint between the their residences and enrol the child at such school. This might not be the solution while in the best interests of the child however, for instance, what will this mean for the child’s friendships, what travelling will this require for the child, and involvment in extracurricular activities. Also, there may be a “catchment” issue and the school at the midpoint may not accept the child’s enrolment, because neither parent lives in the school’s catchment area.
Negotiations regarding schools need to be child focused and with an eye to what is practical.
