The Daily Mail
James Slack and Laura Clark
Parents will be encouraged to complain about ‘recalcitrant’ families of unruly classmates as part of a Government plan to cut youth crime. Possible penalties for the mothers or fathers of disruptive children include a court order to improve their parenting skills, a £1,000 fine or - if they fail to pay - jail.
The policy is part of a Government ‘early intervention’ initiative to reduce offences by young people. It puts the emphasis on parents to take responsibility for their offspring’s actions. Before a child is allowed into a chosen school, each parent will have to sign a formal, legally binding ‘contract’ with the head teacher.
They must agree to guarantee the youngster attends school, completes homework, behaves in class, and even goes to bed at a ‘reasonable time on weekdays’.
Previously any Home School Agreements have been informal arrangements. But Schools Secretary Ed Balls said that the Government would legislate in the autumn to give schools the power to make them legally enforceable. If a head teacher believes the contract has been breached, the parent could be
taken to magistrates’ court and given a parenting order. Ultimately, failure to comply with any order could lead to a hefty fine or even imprisonment.
The same sanctions could apply if they fail to sign the contract in the first place. However, Mr Balls has decided to go further than allowing a head teacher to decide if a contract is being followed. He will give parents the opportunity to make their own complaints about fellow mothers and fathers.
A mother could inform the school if she believed a son or daughter’s classmate was staying up too late or causing trouble in class, in breach of their contract.
A school investigation would then take place. The complaining parent has a right to make representations to the Local Education Authority, or even an ombudsman.
The decision has sparked concerns about the pitfalls of parents ’snooping’ upon one another.
Margaret Morrissey, of the family lobby group Parents Outloud, found the idea of parents reporting on other children ‘despicable’.
‘To ask parents to do this is unforgivable. I wouldn’t want my child brought up in a world where parents run around spying on other parents and essentially telling tales on them,’ she said.
But Mr Balls said he was not prepared to allow a single student to disrupt the education of his peers.
He said: ‘If the large majority of parents are doing the right thing but a small minority do not engage you can have one lesson for 30 kids disrupted by one child.
‘Every parent will have to, as part of the admissions process, say they take on board the obligations in the Home School Agreement, and every parent will be expected to reaffirm that every year.’ He added: ‘Heads will be able to say to the recalcitrant parents, if you do not sign this or make sure they do the homework, or support discipline, then we will take that as evidence in the magistrates’ court.’ Ministers also promised a crackdown on violent ‘girl crime’ amid fears about young women being drawn into gangs. Young girls will be targeted in school with education about the links between alcohol and violence, following a surge of so-called ‘ladette’violence.There will also be two new advertising campaigns aimed at combating cannabis and cocaine use. Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced new powers for ministers to intervene with failing local authority Youth Offending Teams. A batch of recent inspection reports found problems in some YOTs in the North West. Mr Straw said he wanted failing YOTs to ‘raise their game’. But opposition MPs criticised the plans. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘This Government’s-been in power for more than a decade, during which time antisocial behaviour, family breakdown and problems like alcohol abuse and truancy have just got worse and worse.’
More than 20,000 of the most disruptive families in England are also to be placed in Government ’sin bin’ care to improve their behaviour. Those who refuse to co-operate face being made to give up their home - though they are still likely to be re-housed elsewhere. Under the so-called Family Intervention Projects, they will receive intensive 24-hour supervision to make sure children attend school, get enough sleep and eat properly.