The guidance states that:
Parents of pupils admitted to the school after 1 September 1999 must be invited to sign as soon after the date of their child's admission as is reasonably practicable. Schools or LEAs must not invite a parent or child to sign the parental declaration before the child has started to attend the school. Nor must they base a decision as to whether or not to admit a child on the likelihood of the parent signing the parental declaration.
When the home-school agreement is first introduced, all parents of children of compulsory school age must be invited to sign it. In future years, unless the agreement is revised, only the parents of new pupils are required by law to be invited to sign, though a school finding the agreement very helpful might wish to consider inviting all parents to sign again.
When all parents are signing the agreement, it might be worth considering something other than or in addition to simply sending agreements home.
- Could a family celebration event provide the opportunity for parents to add their signature to the agreement?
- Could this be combined with one of the ideas for launching the agreement with pupils discussed below?
| One primary school invited parents into the school hall at the end of the school day for a signing ceremony.
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Anything which presents the agreement a friendly and positive document will help you use it to build home-school relationships.
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A signing event can also be used to highlight the importance and seriousness of the agreement: |
At Mortimore Special School (in Lambeth), all parents and carers were invited to a special meeting with all staff, members of the Governing Body and members of the multi-professional team. The headteachers went through the Agreement, making links to the aims and ethos of the school. Members of the multi-professional team also took the opportunity to talk about their role in supporting learning in the school. After a question and answer session, refreshments were served. The parents and carers and their children then met with the class teachers and support staff to sign the Agreement.
The home-school agreement is copied into the Home School Liaison Book along with individual targets and regular notes showing parents and carers how they can help their children at home. |
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