The Crime and Disorder Act makes provision for parenting orders on parents neglecting their duties. Parents have a vital role. That is why we have required schools from this term to invite parents to sign a home-school agreement. There is now enough evidence to show that we can beat exclusions and truancy. Some schools are achieving much lower levels than other comparable schools.
Good support is vital.
But in the end cutting truancy and exclusion at local levels needs local partnership of schools, authorities, parents and support agencies. And then we must spread the word. Dr Sue Hallam and Frances Castle presented an account of their evaluation report on projects supported under the Standards Fund Programme, and designed to reduce exclusions from school. Projects evaluated included multi-disciplinary behaviour support teams, teacher secondments to PRUs and In School Centres. Supported under the Standards Fund Programme.