Education and Skills Act 2008

44 Parenting contracts and parenting orders: further provisions

(1) Local education authorities in England and responsible officers must, in carrying out their functions in relation to parenting contracts under section 40 and parenting orders under section 41, have regard to the extent to which any failure by, or anything done by, a parent of a person to whom this Part applies is affecting, or is likely to affect, that person’s fulfilment of the duty imposed by section 2.

(2) Regulations may make further provision about the exercise by local education authorities in England of their functions relating to—

(a) parenting contracts under section 40, or

(b) parenting orders under section 41.

(3) The provision that may be made under subsection (2) includes—

(a) provision limiting the power of a local education authority to enter into a parenting contract, or apply for a parenting order, in prescribed cases;

(b) provision requiring one local education authority to consult with another before taking any prescribed step;

(c) provision requiring the provision of information by one local education authority in England to another;

(d) provision as to how the costs associated with parenting contracts under section 40 or parenting orders under section 41 (including in each case the costs of providing counselling or guidance programmes) are to be met.

(4) In this Chapter—

• “parent”, in relation to a young person, is to be construed in accordance with section 576 of the Education Act 1996 (c. 56), but does not include a person who is not an individual;

• “responsible officer”, in relation to a parenting order, means an officer of a local education authority who is specified in the order.