Tougher rules for excluded pupils

Under laws which came into force this week, parents can be hit with fines of £50 if their children are found in a public place without justification in the first five days of an exclusion. But if they do not pay up within 42 days of the fixed penalty notice being issued, parents face prosecution and a possible £1,000 fine.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls said he wanted parents to work with headteachers and take responsibility for their children's behaviour. "Good discipline and strong leadership are vital for driving up standards in our schools," he said.

Mr Balls continued: "But schools can only do so much in isolation. Parents have to be responsible for instilling right and wrong too.

"Our measures help to build strong and supportive partnerships between parents and teachers that will create a more united front against poor behaviour.

"I want heads to engage with parents, including using parenting contracts at an early stage so that schools and parents are able to work together to prevent bad behaviour from escalating.

"It is also important that parents take a central role when a child is excluded - making sure they are at home working, rather than treating the exclusion as a holiday or an excuse to wander the streets."

The reforms also allow headteachers to require parents to sign "contracts" governing the behaviour of their children even before pupils have been excluded.

Mr Balls said it was right that, in the "rare cases" where parents "persistently obstruct or fail to work with schools on their child's behaviour", heads could seek parenting orders from the courts.

Parenting orders enforce the terms of a parenting contract. If parents fail to comply with the order, they face being fined.