FNF Scotland’s submission to the consultation on the Scottish government’s proposed Education Bill argues that it is time to overturn the custom and practice that gives ‘non-resident’ parents a reduced level of engagement with their child’s school.

Most importantly, there has never been any educational argument to defend that secondary status of the ‘non-resident’ parent. To the contrary, research from around the world and the experience of those schools in Scotland that have been active in engaging with non-resident parents shows that children benefit on a range of measures from the involvement of both parents in their learning.

However, FNF Scotland argues the current system that allows schools to provide a lesser level of communication with ‘non-resident’ parents – mostly fathers – breaches their duties in terms of equality law.

FNF Scotland supports the Scottish government’s overarching commitment to challenging gender stereotyping wherever it limits the expectations and opportunities of our citizens. The insistence of most schools that they will choose one parent as the main parent is unfair to both mothers and fathers.

The FNF Scotland submission says that not only the law but the administrative substructure of data gathering by schools has to be addressed. In particular it should be required that a standard Scotland-wide pupil enrolment form is devised to include details of both parents (or kinship/institutional carers). Without a standard enrolment form and the subsequent ‘annual data update’ form that gives both parents equal recognition the two classes of parent are likely to continue.

FNF Scotland accepts that in a minority of cases it will not be in a child’s interests for the ‘non-resident’ parent to be given the same information flow. Such a decision should follow some form of due process and should not simply reflect the preference of the other parent. This will involve overhauling the ambiguous terms of the 2003 Educational Records regulations, removing the burden of ‘taking sides’ away from school staff to an independent procedure.