Written question asked by James Brokenshire (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 March 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 13 March 2009. It was answered by Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Labour) on Monday, 23 March 2009 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Parenting Contracts

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many parenting contracts under the Education Inspections Act 2006 have been entered into by schools;

Answer: The Department collects and publishes data on the use by local authorities of parenting contracts and parenting orders. Although we do not collect data directly from schools, we do ask local authorities to include data collected from schools in their returns to the Department. Local authorities are not asked to report separately on parenting contracts and parenting orders issued by schools and those they issue themselves.For the school academic year 2007/08 when the changes under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 came into force, the number of parenting contracts agreed by local authorities and schools with parents to tackle poor behaviour was 2,546.Use of parenting orders is intended to be a last resort, after local authorities and schools have used a wide range of strategies to address poor behaviour in schools such as voluntary parenting contracts for behaviour. To date, no local authority or school has applied to the courts for an order following a pupil's serious misbehaviour or exclusion from school.

Secondary information