Disputes between parents over school preferences

Anyone who is the ‘parent’ of a child may apply for a school place for their child, including: a biological parent, someone who provides care for a child who lives with them, or a person with ‘parental responsibility’.

‘Parental responsibility’ is a legal term which applies to a person who has rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority in relation to a child, including the right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing.

• A child’s birth mother automatically has parental responsibility unless it has been removed by an adoption order or a parental order.
• A child’s father and mother who were married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, will each have parental responsibility.
• If a child’s birth parents were not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, the child’s father can gain parental responsibility:
  • by registering the child’s birth jointly with the mother
  • by subsequently marrying the child’s mother
  • through a ‘parental responsibility agreement’ between him and the child’s mother that is registered with the court, or
  • by obtaining a court order for parental responsibility.
• Parental responsibility can also be acquired in other ways, including:
  • adoption, after which only the adoptive parents will hold parental responsibility
  • prospective adoption, when parental responsibility is shared with other parties such as the local authority while the child is placed with the prospective adopter
  • obtaining a parental order following surrogacy
  • being a step-parent, through agreement with the child’s mother and their other parent, if that person also has parental responsibility for the child, or as the result of a court order
  • through a child arrangements order determining who the child should spend time with or live with
  • being appointed as a guardian or special guardian
  • being named in an emergency protection order – parental responsibility will be limited to taking reasonable steps to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare
  • being the local authority named in a care order for a child.

More than one person, and even several people, can hold and exercise parental responsibility for a child.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL ADMISSIONS TEAM CANNOT PROCESS MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL ADMISSION APPLICATION FORM AT THE SAME TIME FOR THE SAME CHILD.

Birmingham School Admissions Team is unable to resolve or take sides in disputes between parents who cannot agree on school preferences for their child. Parents must resolve matters between themselves. Where this is not possible, you can seek a resolution through mediation or the courts.

We recognise that every situation is unique, and each case will be dealt with on its own facts, but we hope that the following general guidance will help parents in the event of a dispute about which school their child should attend.

Before applying

We recommend that well before applying, parents should discuss which school they wish their child to attend and attempt to reach agreement in the best interests of their child.

The person completing the application form must ensure that the application has the agreement of all people with parental responsibility.

If parents cannot agree on school preferences we will ask for evidence to show who has ‘parental responsibility’, and copies of any relevant court orders.

If only one parent has parental responsibility, we will process that parent’s preferences.

If there is a court order, we will process the school admission application accordingly.

In the absence of a court order or agreement between all those with parental responsibility we will not be able to process any school admission application for the child, and the application will be put on hold until a resolution has been reached, and we have received satisfactory confirmation that the application can proceed.

Issues after an application has been made

If a parent signs the declaration to say that they have parental responsibility and that all others with parental responsibility also consent to the application, and this later proves to be incorrect, their application may be put on hold. If a school place has already been offered, the offer may be withdrawn. The statutory School Admissions Code allows local authorities to withdraw offers made in error or obtained through fraudulent or intentionally misleading applications.

If, at first, everyone with parental responsibility consents to an application, then one or more persons changes their mind, we will continue to process the application. If a school place has been allocated, we will also try (but cannot guarantee) to keep the school place open for up to 6 weeks, pending a resolution of the dispute.

Requesting information

If a person with parental responsibility requests information about a school admission application made by another parent, they will normally be entitled to the information under Data Protection legislation, unless there is a good reason for not supplying it, such as where a court has ordered that they are not entitled to it or if there is reason to believe that providing the information might cause harm to the child or another individual.

If an applicant believes there are reasons why their details should not be disclosed to the other parent, they should notify us.

Before disclosing any information, we will check that there is no legitimate objection from the applicant and if there are objections we will act accordingly.

When we disclose details of an application for a school place to another parent with parental responsibility, we will always redact the applicant’s personal details, such as their postal address, email address and telephone number.

Page last updated: 25 July 2025