Malta Union of Teachers president Marco Bonnici has warned that parental disputes are creating a growing administrative burden for schools, with educators increasingly having to verify which parent or relative has legal authority to collect a child or sign school-related documents.
Speaking to The Malta independent, Bonnici explained that schools must navigate complex and changing court orders. Court decrees affecting parental rights and custody arrangements can change quickly, requiring schools to stay constantly updated.
The issue represents a shift from past practice, Bonnici said. Previously, schools often relied on community familiarity, with educators knowing families and relatives personally. That is no longer sufficient in many cases.
Educators are also being forced into quasi-legal roles. Teachers and school administrators must interpret and apply legal custody arrangements despite this not being their primary function. This, of course, poses the risk of legal breaches. A mistake in releasing a child to the wrong person or allowing an unauthorised individual to make decisions could result in a breach of a court decree.
School operations are therefore being affected, he said. The need to monitor and verify parental rights is creating additional responsibilities and operational pressures for educators and administrators.
Bonnici said that schools are increasingly asked to provide reports for use in family court cases. Parents often request documentation from schools about a child's behaviour, attendance, wellbeing, or circumstances to support their legal arguments. Moreover, information gathered by educators for child welfare purposes may later be used by one parent against the other in court.
This means that teachers can be drawn directly into legal proceedings, Bonnici said. Educators may be called to testify as witnesses in parental disputes, thus extending their role beyond education. This also means that child protection reporting can have legal consequences.
When schools report concerns such as possible neglect, those reports can become part of custody or parental-rights disputes. Educators are thus being placed in the middle of family conflicts, with teachers who are acting in the interests of the child finding themselves caught between opposing parents in legal battles, he added.
Moreover, parental disputes are affecting students' daily school life, not just administrative processes. Issues such as missing homework or books occur because materials are left at one parent's home while staying with the other. Practical disruptions are becoming routine in classrooms, Bonnici explained. Students may arrive unprepared for lessons due to being split between two households, a situation that is also affecting their academic improvement.
Bonnici described the children as the unintended victims of custody conflicts. The situation places students in difficult circumstances "without any fault of their own". He suggested that children may be "suffering in silence", indicating emotional or psychological strain that may not always be visible in school settings.
Bonnici explained that schools sometimes rely on the Ministry of Education's legal office for guidance, with teachers and administrators seeking legal clarification when handling complex family situations. Moreover, schools are increasingly providing social and emotional support. Teachers are taking on expanded roles, including informal counselling and welfare support.
Children often lack understanding of the legal and family conflicts affecting them, Bonnici said. Especially in primary school, students may not comprehend custody disputes or related disruptions. Furthermore, strong family-school relationships are being strained. Primary schools traditionally maintain close daily contact with families, but custody disputes can disrupt trust and communication between parents and educators.
All of this has a potential chilling effect on reporting. Bonnici said that some educators may hesitate or think twice before making reports due to the possible legal and personal consequences. They worry that reports could draw them into conflicts between separated or disputing parents. Some teachers even fear that making reports could lead to confrontations, including aggressive behaviour from parents at school. Of course, reluctance to act on concerns may then negatively affect students who need support or intervention.
Bonnici highlighted that the emotional impact on students can be considerable. Affected students may struggle to concentrate, may find it difficult to sleep properly, or become unable to regulate emotions such as anger. Teachers observe that students may be preoccupied with family issues that take priority over schoolwork. Bonnici emphasised that teaching and learning become secondary when a child's basic emotional and family stability is affected, as a child's ability to learn depends first on having a stable family and home life.
Bonnici said that there are gaps in the availability of counsellors, psychologists, and social workers to support schools adequately. Some counsellors are responsible for multiple schools within a single college, limiting their capacity to respond effectively to individual cases. Although the Ministry of Education has a legal team, Bonnici described it as limited in capacity due to the need to serve all schools. Moreover, schools may not receive timely advice when urgent court decrees require immediate compliance.
The MUT president highlighted the need for clearer systems where educators have designated people to report to for guidance and advice. Schools require structured support channels to help staff manage complex situations consistently and confidently. The union stresses that children are not responsible for parental disputes and should not be disadvantaged by them.
Bonnici urged parents to resolve disputes independently of the school environment. He emphasised that parental conflicts should be handled between adults, not played out through school systems. This is because parental behaviour and disputes can affect not only the child involved but also the wider school community. Parents are thus urged to respect schools' primary role: providing education, not serving as arenas for family conflict.