Parents of unruly children face £1,000 fines

Parents could be hit with £1,000 fines if children regularly misbehave under plans to improve discipline in schools.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor
Published: 7:00AM BST 29 Jun 2009


They may be hauled before the courts and served with "parenting orders" - forcing them to take action to keep unruly sons and daughters in line.
It is likely to include attending parenting courses, counselling sessions, ensuring children are at home at night and keeping them clear of bad influences.

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A White Paper being published on Tuesday is expected to give schools stronger powers to apply to courts for parenting orders, which are backed by fines of up to £1,000 for those failing to co-operate.
The proposals are at the centre of reforms designed to redefine the relationship between schools and parents.
A new system of "report cards" - detailing schools' exam results, attendance records, the amount of sport played and bullying policies - will be created for the first time. Parents will be able to contribute to the annual reports by completing satisfaction surveys detailing their views on issues such as school lunches and behaviour.
Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, will also announce:
*A pledge to provide private tutors giving one-to-one help for children failing to meet basic standards of literacy and numeracy
*Powers for parents to complain directly to local councils if schools are under-performing, with authorities encouraged to merge troubled schools with successful neighbours
*More GPs, health workers, social services and police officers based at schools to create community hubs for families
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Balls said parents also had to play their part.
He suggested existing home-school agreements - rules drawn up by schools setting out policies on behaviour, truancy and uniform - were not tough enough and should be strengthened by parenting contracts.
"Every parent has a responsibility to back our teachers and make sure the rules are enforced," he said. "Schools already have home-school agreements which set out the school's rules and should make clear to parents what is expected of them and their children.
"But heads tell me that not all parents are willing to co-operate. And when pupils and parents break the agreement, it's hard to enforce it. That has to change. There must be real consequences for those parents who don't take their responsibilities seriously."
The proposals are likely to reignite the row over Government intervention in family life.
Earlier this month, academics from the University of the West of England said increasingly "oppressive demands" introduced over the last 20 years cast children and their families as numbers rather than real people.
The White Paper will also attempt to woo middle-class parents by guaranteeing one-to-one help for children struggling with the three-Rs, cutting the number of families forced to pay for private lessons. Ministers hope to recruit 100,000 tutors from the ranks of current and retired teachers to help the 600,000 pupils who are falling behind.
Schools will also get more freedom from Whitehall over teaching the basics as the Government scraps its flagship National Strategies. Axing the programme, which sets out how schools teach and manage behaviour, is expected to save £100 million a year.

Sounds to me like they are trying to split families apart here . Be more responsible to the school teachers , rules and policies and not your own kids sorry my kid comes first and I`ll back him 100% every time till he shows me i shouldn`t. If you sign this contract then you have consented to having this cr*p forced on you do not sign any contract giving yours or your kids rights away .