retaking A levels / full time student status

Hi Somuch2know2

I''m William, the Child Maintenance Options consultant. Thank you for your post.

Under child support legislation, regular child maintenance payments must be made until a child is 16 years old, or 20 if they are in full-time education (A-level or equivalent), or for as long as Child Benefit is being paid. However, if arrears have built up on a case, those arrears must still be paid, even if regular child maintenance payments have stopped. As you''ve a case in place with the Child Support Agency (CSA), you may wish to speak to them for further clarification. You can find the contact details on any correspondence that they have sent you, or by visiting their website at www.gov.uk/child-support-agency.

In terms of the other ways to put child maintenance in place, using the CSA isn’t the only way to do this. If you and your son''s other parent can reach an agreement, you could make a family-based arrangement. This allows parents to decide between themselves how to share the cost of raising their children. For example you could agree on a regular weekly payment, a contribution to household bills, or payment for specific items (like clothes etc). Family-based arrangements give you the flexibility to agree between yourselves what counts as child maintenance, and to change your agreement as your children get older or your circumstances change.

For more information about family-based arrangements and access to useful tools and forms online you can visit www.cmoptions.org, or if you''d prefer a confidential chat you could call the Child Maintenance Options team on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline). We also have a web application that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is www.wikivorce.com/divorce/Sorting-Out-Separation.html

I hope this helps.

William