Warwickshire tackles truancy
Warwickshire County Council is sending out a message to parents that allowing their children to miss school could result in a court appearance, a fine, a parenting order or event imprisonment.
This follows a recent prosecution of a Nuneaton parent who was fined £135 at Nuneaton Court after pleading guilty to not securing full-time attendance of a child of school age under section 444 of the 1996 Education Act.
The pupil’s unathorised absence rate was 87.5 per cent with 245 school sessions missed out of a possible 280 between September 2009 and May 2010.
Any absence that is either not explained by a parent or is not agreed by the school is counted as unauthorised or known as truancy. Persistent or severe levels of unauthorised absence will be referred to the Education Social Work Service (ESWS) for intervention.
The service offers support to help with any issues that are preventing full attendance but if absence or lateness persists, they have the responsibility to enforce attendance through legal interventions (fixed penalty notices and/or prosecution) which may result in serious consequences for the parents.
Tim Scott from the Education Social Work Service said: “We take the matter of truancy very seriously and, as this case demonstrates, we are not afraid to use the law to demonstrate to parents how important it is for their children to attend school.
"Although we would only choose prosecution in the most persistent cases and always with the best interests of the child in mind, we will take this course of action to ensure all children get the chance for a good education.
“Every school has an attendance policy available to parents which details how attendance monitoring and support systems work. We also issue guidance to families to explain their responsibilities involving attendance and provide further information on the Warwickshire County Council website.”
Eleanor Clarke Deputy Headteacher from Alderman Smith School and Sports College commented: “A pupil’s persistent absence causes disruption to the whole classroom. Not only does it impact on the individual’s education but it results in a substantial waste of our teaching and administration resources.
“The importance of regular school attendance can not be underestimated, especially during this time of recession when jobs and training opportunities are in great demand. Government research shows that half a day a week missed during years 10 and 11 can mean the loss of a grade for every GCSE taken which could make a big difference to a pupil’s options for the future.
“Without the support of the Education Social Work Service in getting these important messages to parents, improvements in attendance would not be achieved. Our Education Social Workers offer invaluable help and advice to parents and the school and it’s reassuring to know they have the power to pursue prosecutions in particularly serious cases.”
For more information please visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/schoolattendance