Day to Day Care, and Guardianship

Parents are responsible for informing the school of the day-to-day care and contact arrangements in place for their child, whether recorded by an agreement or provided for in court orders. Any dispute over the rights of parents regarding their child’s schooling, day-to-day care arrangements, or and communication, should be resolved by the parents, or through the Courts. It is not the principal's job to adjudicate.

• Separated parents remain guardians of their children, subject to any court orders being in place.

• Guardians have a responsibility for the child’s care, development, and upbringing. Guardians are responsible for making education decisions about their child and have a duty to consult with each other.

• Usually, a child's parents are joint guardians of their child from birth (often referred to as natural guardians) if they were married, in a de facto relationship, and/or the father was recorded on the child's birth certificate.

• Other adults (for example, new partners, grandparents) can be appointed guardians of children by the Family Court. A child can have more than two guardians.

• In some cases, the Family or High Court may be appointed guardians of a child and the court usually appoints CYFS (Child Youth and Family Services) to act on its behalf.

• Day-to-day care arrangements for children can be agreed informally, recorded in a formal arrangement, or determined by a parenting order from the Family Court.

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The Rights of the Guardian and the School

Both parents, subject to any court orders, and any other guardians are entitled to:

• receive a copy of the child’s school reports, and school newsletters

• discuss their child's educational progress with the principal and teachers

• contribute to major educational decisions, for example, which school the child attends, special class admission, religious instruction, etc.

• participate in parent groups or meetings and other school functions

• see their child's school records, subject to any legal restrictions.

The guardians themselves must take the initiative in exercising these rights.

Contact Rights and the School

Any parent, guardian or other person wishing to have contact with a child during school hours must follow the school's Visitors policy.

If the principal has concerns about a person wanting to contact a child at school (for instance, doubt over identity, good faith, or legal rights) they should:

• contact the parent and any guardian or a third party to ascertain the person's identity and contact rights.

• ask to see any formal agreement or court order, or contact the person's solicitor, if the person claims contact under a parenting order. If the order says "reasonable contact", then the principal may refuse contact until after school hours so that the running of the school is not unnecessarily disrupted, nor the child’s schooling inhibited.

• deny unrestricted contact with the child, especially if it is suspected the person may remove the child from school; and act as necessary to protect the welfare of the child, including contacting third parties such as the Police.

• supervise the meeting with the child, if appropriate.

• use professional judgement, having the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration.

The school considers it inappropriate for personal mail/emails to be sent to a child at school by someone who is subject to a court order or other legal restriction. A pattern of mail should be queried by a teacher.

Surnames

Guardians determine the surname of a child. The school refers to a child by his or her preferred surname.

Where conflict arises, the school should refer to the name on the child's birth certificate.

Reviewed 31/10/2022