Taking a tough line on 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.
Any absence from school that is either not explained by a parent or is not agreed by the school is counted as unauthorised or known as truancy, and in persistent cases parents can be prosecuted for not securing full-time attendance of a child of school age under section 444 of the 1996 Education Act
A number of Warwickshire families have already faced charges this year at the county’s magistrate’s courts for their children’s absence records, resulting in a range of community orders and fines.
One couple who pleaded guilty left court with a six month Community Supervision Order and requirement to participate in a parenting programme for the mother, and a 12 month Community Order and 80 hours unpaid work for the father.
Two cases in Nuneaton saw a couple and a mother fined a total of £865 plus £345 in court costs. In Rugby, three magistrates court cases resulted in three sets of parents being ordered to pay fees totalling £935 and costs of £245 between them.
Persistent or severe levels of unauthorised absence will be referred to the county council’s 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 these cases demonstrate, 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.”
Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, portfolio holder for children, young people and families said: “The local authority offers help and advice to parents and schools and will only use the power to pursue prosecutions in particularly serious cases to reinforce the value of education.
“The importance of regular school attendance should not be underestimated, especially during this time 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.”
On the whole attendance levels for the county are generally high, however, in the past year the local authority has pursued legal interventions to address unauthorised absence on 35 occasions.