Truanting prosecutions almost doubled in a year

By pharper

THE number of North Devon parents prosecuted for allowing their children to miss school almost doubled last year.

Devon County Council said 84 parents were taken to court in the 2008/2009 academic year, relating to 59 children.

The previous academic year 45 parents were prosecuted, relating to 33 children.

Mark Juby, principal at Pilton Community College, said: "Without regular attendance then progress will be disjointed and limited. Most schools have a range of strategies to improve attendance for those who fall below acceptable levels which include phone calls home, letters reminding parents of their responsibilities and, if all else fails, then prosecution.

"Good and outstanding attendance — 100% for a term or a year — will be rewarded with certificates, a mention in newsletters and letters of congratulations sent home.

"Sometimes there are mitigating circumstances and sometimes there are not, which is normally the point we look to prosecute."

Braunton School has one of the lowest levels of persistent truancy in Devon. Principal David Sharratt said: "We set a benchmark of 95% which is almost a day off every month. If an individual took a day off every month I am sure their employer would become concerned. If it falls below 90% then we will speak to parents and start to look at patterns."

Braunton School has an automated system where a parent will receive a text or phone call if their child is absent.

It also targets bullying, works closely with other local education providers, rewards Year 11 students for good attendance and offers alternative curriculums and out-of-hours tuition.

Mr Sharratt said: "We have had parents who've been prosecuted. We are prepared to bite if people are taking the mickey.

"It is inevitable every now and then there will be parents who support their children in truanting because it takes too much hard work to get them into school. It is weak parenting in my opinion."

Across Devon there were 248 parents prosecuted relating to 188 children for the period of September 2008 to August 2009. This is out of a total school population of some 96,000 children.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: "Parents have a duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly. Children only get one chance at an education.

"Our schools and education welfare officers are more than happy to work with families who may be suffering problems that affect their children's school attendance.

"Prosecution is a last resort. But where there is wilful and long-standing truancy, then we will prosecute."

Mum fined for truant children - read the story