Education Initiative

Parental separation doesn't have to mean poor outcomes for children, but the way that the separation is handled matters.

If we had a blank sheet of paper and were designing a package of support for a child whose parents are separating, that child's school would of course play a fundamental role in that plan.

That's why in 2025 we asked teachers across the UK what they are seeing on the ground when it comes to working with separated parents and outcomes for children. Here's what we found:

We surveyed teachers.*

*Data from The Parents' Promise Separation and Education, survey for educational professionals, 2025.

58% of teachers had seen school becoming a source of, or location for, conflict between separated parents.

61% of teachers have experienced one parent trying to exclude the other from school communication.

20% of teachers have experienced one parent trying to exclude the other, or members of their ex-partner's family from picking up a child from school.

37% reported being in situations of such high conflict between the parents that school is forced into a time consuming and stressful intermediary role.

Less than 11% of teachers have had any training to understand children's needs and rights in the context of separation.

Only 38% of teachers were aware if their school had a policy for separated parents

Only 8% of teachers had a safeguarding lead that dealt with separation.

Fewer than 6% of teachers have had any training on the legal aspects of children's rights and needs in any family separation

Why this is so important.

Teachers have seen separation affecting:

academic performance (reported by 79%)
school attendance (reported by 79%)
mental health (reported by 94%)

It can be hard to know what to prioritise with regards to children and making sure that they are OK. Here are five simple principles that parents and schools can focus on which we believe will provide the best platform for children to thrive after separation. We call them the 'Five To Thrive'.

Five to thrive

Holistic communication strategy

Parents and school should agree a joined-up communication strategy in which the parents have a transparent dialogue with the school around all school and home matters. No disagreements should be had at school or around the child(ren).

Friendship groups

Parents and school should talk with each other about changes or concerns in the way the child's friendship group may be changing or being impacted.

School work and attendance

During a time of parental separation, there are additional pressures however schoolwork, homework and attendance will always be important. Parents and school to encourage children in all aspects and have an agreed approach to homework routines between both households.

Mental health

Parents and school should keep a close eye on the mental health and wellbeing of the child(ren), and the school should ensure that the child(ren) have access to pastoral support with a nominated member of staff at the school.

Sports and Hobbies

Parents and school to ensure the child(ren) continue to participate in school extra extracurricular activities as this is important to their wider well-being.

Parent and teacher resources

Our survey shows that dealing with separation is a real safeguarding issue for children and with this information, we began thinking about what schools need to provide the best possible support for the children in their care.

We also realised that we needed to help parents to understand how they separate is so important to the wellbeing of, and outcomes for, their children.

So, we set about about creating resources to better support teachers, parents and children through their journey. The resources are all available here.

The 5 changes

1

Parents to keep school as an important safe space for children and not bring disagreements to school.

Download our guide for parents

2

All schools to have clearly communicated separation policies in place

Download our school separation policy guide

Download an example separation policy

3

Educational professionals to have training and resources available to understand children's rights and needs in the context of separation and school.

Download our guide for teachers

Download additional resources for Primary School

Download additional resources for Secondary School

4

All schools to have nominated safeguarding leads for separation to best support children during this time.

5

Parents and schools to embrace the five to thrive principles to make a practical difference to young people experiencing family change.