Glossary

This is an individual who presides over simple court cases in their community. They are also referred to as justices of the peace. They are not legally trained, are volunteers, work part time and are unpaid. They can claim expenses. In court they will have a legal adviser present who will guide them on points of law. Magistrates sit in a group of three. The middle magistrate is known as the presiding justice and has been trained to be the chair. The outer two magistrates on either side of the presiding justice are called the wingers.

A managed move is a voluntary informal agreement between a child, their parents and the school where the child is being moved from and the school where the child is being moved to. The managed move is initially a trial move from one school to another under controlled circumstances, but with support, leading to a permanent move. It is an alternative to a permanent expulsion because there will be no expulsion recorded on the child’s school records. The child will have registration at both schools during the trial period until the move is permanent.

This is another name for a freezing order.

Maternity allowance is money you may be able to claim when you need to take time off during pregnancy or after giving birth.

This is a government grant called a sure start maternity grant. It is a one off payment of about £500.

A maternity nurse is a postnatal carer that helps a mother and her newborn child.

A McKenzie friend is an individual who can attend a court hearing with a litigant in person - a person who is involved in court proceedings and is not represented by a solicitor or barrister. Permission is required by the judge presiding over the hearing.

The process where a trained individual or group of individuals will help a separating or divorcing couple reach agreements and decisions about child arrangements and the division of marital assets, finances and pensions. The mediator(s) is independent and impartial. It is the law in the UK that all divorcing couples must attend mediation first to sort out matters and only if mediation fails can they start the court process of sorting out these matters. There are exceptions where couples are not required to attend mediation first and can come straight to the courts such as domestic violence.

At the end of the mediation, you will have a summary of the decisions made and agreed by both ex-partners. This is called an outcome statement or a memorandum of understanding. Now the mediation company or a solicitor can write yours and your ex-partner’s decisions onto a piece of paper called a draft consent agreement and send it to the court to be approved/formalised by the court and made into a legal consent order/court order.

Founded in 1946, Mensa is a non-political organisation based in the UK. It is for people who have a high IQ. Mensa was set up to nurture intelligence for the betterment of society. It will give gifted youngsters a chance to meet other gifted youngsters, attend special events organised by Mensa, access to special interest groups, and receive monthly magazines which will be interesting for individuals with a high IQ.

This refers to the worthiness or quality of a case to bring it to court to be heard.

A MIAM is a mediation information and assessment meeting. UK law specifies that all divorcing couples must attend mediation first to agree child arrangements and financial settlement. Only if this fails or you are exempt can you ask the courts o intervene. A MIAM is the introductory meeting where you will meet your mediator and they will inform you how mediation works and the rules, They will also ask you what you hope to achieve.

Million Plus is a group of modern UK universities founded in 1997. Members of this group were founded after 1992 or given university status after 1992.

This is a court order made in a foreign court outside of the UK that is the same as the court order made in the UK court. This mirror court order will allow the enforcement of the court order made in the UK court outside of the UK, because the UK court order is not enforceable outside of the UK.

This word refers to the incident when a judge makes the wrong decision, gives the wrong direction or directs a jury wrongly.

This is a psychological condition where an individual (a parent in this write up) pretends, fakes, invents, exaggerates and deliberately causes an illness or a disorder in their child.