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Education and Inspections Bill

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) for indicating that she wants to take up new clause 72 in writing, which is what I wanted to do anyway. New clauses 2 and 10 would prevent a child from being admitted to a school if the parents were unable or unwilling to sign a home-school agreement. We agree that home-school agreements are an important tool in maintaining discipline and improving behaviour in schools, but we fundamentally disagree with the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) on the issue. In Committee, it was clear that Members making that proposal believed that if parents declined to sign a home-school agreement their child should be refused admission to a school. I cannot accept a provision that would penalise a child by refusing them access to a school because their parents had not signed a document stating that they agreed with its rules and ethos. It is much better for discussion about home-school agreements to take place after the offer of a school place has been accepted; whether a parent signs the agreement should have no bearing on the security of a child’s place. I am also concerned that allowing some schools to make signing a home-school agreement compulsory could discourage some parents from applying to those schools. Such a scheme is best undertaken as part of the process of building a positive relationship between the school and family when parents know that their child will be attending the school in question. We have no wish to see home-school agreements used as another means whereby schools can select pupils, so I invite the hon. Gentleman to withdraw the new clause.