Home-school Agreements: A true partnership?

From September 1999 all schools in England and Wales will be expected to have a 'home-school' agreement in place. The home-school agreement initiative has provoked considerable debate amongst and between politicians, educationalists, professional associations and parents' organisations. This article provides an analysis of this controversy . The first part places home-school agreements within the historical context of home-school relations. The second part discusses two key issues of 'enforceability' and 'partnership' that have informed much of the debate . The article concludes by suggesting that models of parents as 'problems', as 'partners' and as 'consumers' are all implicit within this recent initiative and it questions whether an acceptable balance between these models can be incorporated in the process of implementation.