Government sets out details for pupil and parent guarantees

Set out in the Children, Schools and Families Bill, which went through its second reading in Parliament yesterday, pupil and parent guarantees are a way of setting out expectations of schools.

While these guarantees will largely cover existing requirements, some new entitlements set out in The Pupil and Parent Guarantees document are extra support and catch-up lessons for pupils falling behind at Key Stage 1 and one-to-one tuition for Key Stage 2 pupils and Year 7 students who are falling behind.

The proposed guarantees, which have been published for consultation, also offer personal tutors for all secondary school pupils, the opportunity for pupils to study triple sciences at GCSE.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: "It is no longer enough to have a system meeting the needs of most children most of the time. These guarantees mean that all children and their parents know what they should expect from their school and will have the powers to ensure those expectations are met."

"At the same time, head teachers and school governing bodies also deserve to know that parents will support them by ensuring that children attend school regularly, are ready to learn and behave well. The new Home School Agreements will make this happen."