Ofsted head says 'feckless' parents should be fined if they don't support schools

'The feckless parent, who just does not support, they should be told unequivocally that they’re not supporting the school and if necessary, fined.'

Sir Michael Wilshaw, then Ofsted Chief Inspector attends the Confederation of British Industry annual conference on 19 November 2012 in London, England. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

The head of Osted has said that "feckless" parents should be shamed if they fail to turn up to parents' evenings.

Sir Michael Wilshaw also said he wished he could fine parents if they did not support the schools of their children.

He said: "I would have loved, as a head teacher, to have said to a parent, you haven’t been to a parents’ evening on three successive occasions, you don’t ensure your children come to school with books in the morning, I’m going to impose a fine which will be supported by law.

"The feckless parent, who just does not support, they should be told. They should be told unequivocally that they’re not supporting the school and if necessary, fined."

Sir Michael Wilshaw told the Sutton Trust summit in London: "It’s really up to head teachers to be challenging. I used to send very nasty letters to parents who didn’t turn up to parents evening, saying ‘you’re not going to get your son or daughter’s report until you come and see me. You haven’t turned up to parents evening three times on the trot.

"And on a number of occasions I would say "you’re a bad parent, you’re not supporting your child". The reaction was not great, but it needs to be said.

"I’d have loved to have had the legal backing to fine parents who didn’t support the school, but that’s a long way off I suspect."

The National Union of Teachers have been contacted for comment

Earlier this month, Sir Wilshaw said that too many schools were refusing to allow pupils to take books home because they feared they would fail to bring them back.