I am divorced with my wife and my son keeps missing schools.

Thanks for confirming. As you were married you have parental responsibility for him and have a right to access school records and see what social services are doing. If you think not enough is being done to safeguard his welfare whilst in the mother's care you can consider pursuing an application for a child arrangement order. If social services are able to confirm that there is a child protection risk from her towards your son you will not need to mediate formally with her and can proceed immediately to court. If social services are not able to confirm this you would need to make a referral to an independent mediator (you can find local ones here: familymediationcouncil.org.uk). The mediator will assist you both in reaching an amicable agreement that is in the child's best interests. If mediation does not help, then you will be able to pursue an application to court under Form C100 together with a £215 court fee to your local family court for a child arrangement order and the court can make a decision regarding the matter. For your information the Court will take into consideration the following when making a decision regarding the application:

1. The wishes and feelings of the child concerned
2. The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs
3. The likely effect on the child if circumstances changed as a result of the courts decision
4. The child’s age, sex, backgrounds and any other characteristics which will be relevant to the court’s decision
5. Any harm the child has suffered or may be at risk of suffering
6. Capability of the child’s parents (or any other person the courts find relevant) at meeting the child’s needs
7. The powers available to the court in the given proceedings

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