Contact: Jack Cawthra; Education Officer (Education Other Than At School); 01962 846537; email: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 The attached draft paper sets out guidance and procedures for Hampshire Schools in the use of Parenting Contracts and Parenting Orders following fixed-term or permanent exclusion. Hampshire County Council already uses Parenting Contracts as part of its `Fast Track' Prosecution Process for dealing with cases of persistent non-attendance and as required, has a `Code of Conduct' for the issuing of Penalty Notices in cases of unauthorised absence. This forms part of the work of the Education Welfare Service.

1.2 It is the policy of Hampshire County Council to work co-operatively and supportively with parents. For example, the County has a dedicated Parent Development Team that works with partners, to provide parent development programmes. Hampshire County Council is one of a small group of Local Authorities that is participating in a Parenting Pathfinder Project - designed to reach a target number of 1,000 families in the County. The Guidance and Procedures on Parenting Contracts and Parenting Orders will link with the County Council's Parenting Strategy and other services (e.g. Parent Partnership, Family Group Conferences etc.) offered to parents to support them in managing their child's behaviour.

1.3 The draft guidance has been discussed and commented on by the Primary and Secondary Headteachers' Standing Committees and has been widely circulated for consultation within Hampshire County Council.

1.4 This guidance supports the following Hampshire County Council priorities:

"Maximising wellbeing" and "Hampshire safer and more secure for all"

· by supporting and working with parents and carers in order to ensure that their children's behaviour does not preclude them from reaching their potential.

· by supporting and working with parents to ensure that their child's behaviour does not affect their access to meaningful and effective employment, post-school.

· by supporting and working with parents and carers to ensure that their children do not engage in anti-social or offending behaviour to the detriment of their community.

1.5 The paper also supports the following outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda and the Children Act:

· Enjoy and Achieve: by supporting schools and parents in managing children's behaviour in order to enable them to reach their potential.

· Make a Positive Contribution: by discouraging anti-social and offending behaviour.

· Achieve Economic Well-being: by supporting schools and parents in managing children's behaviour so that it does not prevent access to post-school employment.

2 Background

2.1 Parenting contracts for behaviour and Parenting Orders for serious misbehaviour have been introduced by central Government to reinforce parents' responsibilities for their children, whilst at school. The DfES expects all Local Authorities to publish guidance for schools on the use of Parenting Contracts and Orders for behaviour. Local Authorities are also required to report the number of Parenting Contracts issued and Parenting Orders made to the DfES, on a termly basis. The attached, draft paper sets out guidance and procedures to support the use of these measures in Hampshire schools.

2.2 A Parenting Contract is a formal (but voluntary) agreement between a parent and either the Local Authority (LA) or, more usually the governing body of a school. Parenting Contracts are intended to provide parents with the support they need and to encourage a positive joint working relationship between parents, schools and the LA to tackle poor behaviour in schools and any underlying causes. Parenting Contracts can be offered when a pupil has been excluded from school (whether for a fixed term or permanently).

2.3 A Parenting Order is a court order which requires the parent to attend guidance or counselling sessions e.g. a parenting skills course and to follow any other directions as deemed appropriate by the court, in order to help improve the child's behaviour. It can be used when a pupil has been excluded for serious misbehaviour (either permanently or for two or more fixed term periods in any 12 months) and/or where parenting is considered a factor in the child's behaviour and parents are unwilling to engage with the school or LA. Parenting Orders have been introduced in recognition that some parents may need targeted and individualised support to provide them with the skills they need to address their child's behaviour.

2.4 Parenting Orders have several implications for LA personnel and staff. These include:

i) receiving requests for Parenting Orders from schools, considering the appropriateness of such requests and preparing applications to the courts, where appropriate.

ii) collecting, collating and reporting data with regard to Parenting Orders, as required.

iii) the appointment of `responsible officers' for the supervision of parenting orders. Whilst these could be LA officers, headteachers or other persons nominated by headteachers, DfES guidance recognises that, "In most circumstances the `responsible officer' will be an officer of the LEA".

Ideally, `responsible officers' should have training, experience or a qualification in social work issues, a knowledge of education law, policy and practice and some familiarity with court procedures. Their responsibilities are wide-ranging and include:

· making assessments about the nature of counselling or guidance programmes, including who will administer the sessions, the training and experience of the facilitators, the curriculum used, whether classes will be group or individually based and whether there are particular cultural and social factors to be considered;

· identifying and liaising with other agencies involved;

· being sensitive to the needs of the pupil and parent;

· maintaining regular contact with the parent in order to determine the extent to which the parent is complying with the requirements set by the court;

· where there is a failure by the parent to comply, contacting them within one working day;

· in the event of more than one failure to comply, meeting the parent to review the order and consider whether the failure to comply should form the basis of a prosecution.

An LA officer could be the `responsible officer' for one or more Parenting Orders.

2.5 Requests from schools for Parenting Orders will be referred, in the first instance, to the relevant Inclusion Manager who will, in consultation with senior officers from other services, make decisions regarding the appointment of `responsible officers'. Inclusion Managers will also be responsible for the collating and reporting of data on Parenting Contracts and Parenting Orders, as required.

3 The role of the Local Authority

3.1 It is anticipated that, in most cases, Parenting Contracts will be agreed between parents and schools. The role of the LA will be to collect and report data. In the case of Parenting Orders, the LA is responsible for making an application to the court. Schools can ask the LA to apply, on their behalf, for a Parenting Order.

4 Legal Implications

4.1 Applications for Parenting Orders and prosecutions for failing to comply with them will be heard in the Magistrates' Court. Appeals by parents against the making of Parenting Orders will, however, be dealt with by Crown Courts.

4.2 As applications for Parenting Orders can be contested it is important for the LA to have clear and consistent criteria, as outlined in pages 8-9 of the attached `guidance and procedures' on which decisions to apply for them are based.

4.3 Support from Hampshire County Council Chief Executive's (Legal) Department will also be required in applications for Parenting Orders and any subsequent legal proceedings undertaken. It is anticipated that such support will be met from within existing Service Level Agreements.

5 Financial Implications

5.1 Hampshire County Council will be responsible for all costs associated with application for Parenting Orders including the costs of any counselling and/or guidance sessions which parents are directed to undertake. These costs fall to be met from the Schools Budget.

5.2 Compensating savings will need to be found from within existing budgets to meet the central costs of Parenting Orders, where these arise. As there is no experience locally or nationally of such orders it is not possible to form any estimate of costs at this time.

5.3 Where schools enter into Parenting Contracts, they will be responsible for the costs of any support provided under the contract.

6. Personnel Implications

6.1 Many of the potential personnel implications of issuing Parenting Orders are described in Section 2 of this report.

6.2 As with Financial Implications (see Section 5) there is, currently, no experience nationally or locally of such orders and it is not possible to form any estimates of additional workload on staff.

7. Impact Assessment

7.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

8. Crime prevention issues

8.1 The Local Authority has considered its obligations and approach under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Hampshire's work is consistent with these requirements.

9. Views of the Local County Councillor

9.1 Not applicable.

Recommendation

1 That the Executive Member for Education approve the Guidance and Procedures for Hampshire schools on the use of Parenting Contracts and Parenting Orders in cases of exclusion from school.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None.