Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling: Rhetoric and Reality

1. Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling: Rhetoric and Reality Thea Brown, Alison Lundgren and Lisa-Maree Stevens, Monash University, VIC (Thea. Brown@med.monash.edu.au)

2. Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling • Viewing Collaborative Divorce and Shared Parenting Through the Lens of Parents’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schooling • Can the new Legislation achieve Shared Parenting in relation to Children’s Schooling? Or is it Political Rhetoric than cannot translate into Parental Reality?

3. Problem first noted by educational researchers Children progressed better academically when both parents involved Serious Problem because Children’s academic achievements and financial well-being fall post separation Education is a strategy to overcome economic disadvantage Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

4. Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling • Subsequently Non-Residential Parents raised issues • Issues were about a loss of the link between themselves and their children’s schooling: no feedback from teachers, no information like reports, school newsletters, unable to attend school events and volunteer activities

5. Curtin University team did 3 - 4 studies, 1996-2005 Vast Majority of Non Residential Parents little involved in Children’s Schooling despite desire to be so Less than half received school reports despite new Education Department policy Researchers thought Non-Residential Parents “excluded” Looked for C”wealth family law reform Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

6. Monash Researcher found All States, except VIC, have publicly accessible policies with NSW policy and website as the best Vic Principals interviewed Policy and court orders vague, left up to Principal, no training, no support; Principals took varying approaches Noted more shared parenting; unaware of new legislation Wanted guidance for grandparent s Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

7. Larger study of School Staff and Non-Residential Parents showed schools and parents in great difficulty despite new legislation Teachers saw problem as out of their control Non-Residential Parents still reporting feeling excluded, unwelcome, ignorant, uninvolved with children’s schooling; had little knowledge of or communication from schools Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

8. Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling • One group reported more positively • Non-Residential Parents who were Teachers • A Finding of Concern indicating that problems may be too great for most parents

9. One respondent reported one non-government school’s special program Training for all staff working with children whose parents had separated Special Orientation for Separated Parents spelling out policies, procedures, services, and WELCOME Special Groups for Children Counselling Service Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

10. Despite Legislation Shared Parenting Hard to implement Most Schools have not developed strategies to manage parental separation let alone shared parenting Shared Parenting requires Supporting Services from the Socio-Legal Family Law Service System AND from other system like Schools Multi-targeting school systems, centrally and locally, needed but…. Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling