Divorce or separation can leave grandparents without contact with their grandchildren.
Grandparents do have limited legal rights and an application can be made to the court if a grandparent is being refused contact with their grandchild or if the contact is generally being obstructed.
Step-parents
Step-parents often play an important part in the lives of their step-children yet they have legal parental responsibility for the child and cannot therefore be involved in making decisions regarding the child. If the biological parents agree, a Parental Responsibility Agreement can be entered into or it may be possible to ask the court to make such an order.