The contracts, to be introduced in all state schools in England and Wales, will spell out parents' responsibilities in helping their children through school, in such areas as homework, discipline and attendance.

The agreements will "help clarify responsibilities and expectations," said the Education Minister, Jacqui Smith. "Parents will know what to expect from their child's school and the school will know that parents are committed to supporting them."

The contracts, which are intended to encourage a sense of partnership between parents, teachers and pupils, will set out the values and standards of behaviour expected by the school - including the prevention of bullying.

Although all schools will be required to produce the contracts and all parents will be requested to return a signed copy, there will not be any sanctions against non-signers.

In particular, schools will not be allowed to make signing a home-school contract a pre-condition of giving children places at over-subscribed schools.

Improvements in behaviour

The government says that where home-school contracts have already been introduced, research from school inspectors suggests that there has been a significant improvement in behaviour.

As an example, the Office for Standards in Education says that Perry Court Junior School in Bristol, which introduced a home-school agreement in 1997, saw a dramatic fall in the number of letters sent home to parents complaining about their children's bad behaviour.

Parents will also be able to receive more information about their pupils' progress, with guidelines on homework and the National Curriculum to be published and made available.