ABSTRACT
Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003a) endorsed New Labour’s notion of a ‘new relationship’ with parents. Parents were given a central role in promoting and achieving the five outcomes for children, ensuring that their own children remained safe and healthy, and that they could enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and attain economic wellbeing. This chapter highlights the positioning of parents as agents of government policy and the tensions for parents that ECM presented. Any failure of children to take advantage of the educational, social and economic opportunities available to them rested with parents rather than government or service providers. The chapter explores the notions of ‘parental responsibility’, ‘parental involvement’ and the concept of the ‘good parent’ that New Labour sought to model through Every Child Matters.
