Daughter changing to private school

We divorced 4 years ago with Consent Order and our daughter has started in the local state primary school 3 years ago.

My ex now wants to send her to a private school which is not something I have agreed to. Can the consent order be varied to force me to pay school fees? Education was asked about in the original divorce proceedings 4 years ago and it was recorded that neither of us wanted private education for her.

I think there are two issues; on principle do you object to the change of school, if such a change is made would you be forced to pay for it.

In respect to the first point, you share PR and therfore could raise an objection, if no agreement reached with your ex you would return the matter to court. I believe the order you would seek would be a specific issues order. You would ask the the court to order that your dtr remain in her current school. You would need to have child centered ready; for example: established peer groups, disruption to her education, distance she would need to travel. If you believed that the school place was not financialy sustainable and would result in a move back into state provision (thus causing further disruption) at some point in the future, that would be a valid arguement in my view. On thiner ground, you might mention things like ethical objections to private education or a wish for her to mix with a wider range of people than she would encounter in private school.

On the second point, am afraid its above my head so cant comment.

I do object but feel it is now too late to do anything without massive disruption to her.

But given that my ex has our daughter''s best interests at heart, the major worry would be on the second point - whether I could be ordered by a court to pay for it now or in the future. Money has not been mentioned yet, and it may not be - after all, there are burasries and scholarships kicking around.

I dont think you could be made to pay because any payments above the csa rate are voluntary.

I suppose it depends on the consent order, was it a Clean Break or do you pay sm?

I pay SM, but at the time of divorce we both stated that we had always intended a non-private education.

I was thinking that maybe she could apply for a variation of sm, but not sure how successful she would be because private education isnt a necessity but a lifestyle choice.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be able to answer you questions

IT''s possible for one parent to apply for a court order against the parent to pay school fees under the Children Act 1989. Unless a child "needs" to go to a special school such an application is unlikely to be successful if there was never a joint intention to send the children to a fee paying school.

Apart from you having equal responsibility for determining which school your child attends your argument is the finances were settled at the time of the divorce and you shouldn''t be subject to further claims.