Parenting Contracts and Orders

An LEA or school governing body can apply to the magistrates' court for a parenting order covering the parents of a child who has been excluded from school. The relevant exclusion must have been either permanent or for two fixed periods within twelve months. A parenting order requires the parent to exercise control over the child, and to attend counselling or a guidance programme. Parents who fail to keep to the terms of a parenting order are guilty of a criminal offence, and could be fined.

Parenting contracts are a new provision allowing for formal agreements between parents and the school or LEA, which codify the intended action in relation to a specific child’s attendance and behaviour.