Mums are in frontline of truancy crackdowns

Feb 9 2008 by Moira Sharkey, South Wales Echo

EIGHT out of every 10 parents prosecuted in South Wales for failing to send their children to school are mums.

A total of 296 parents were prosecuted last year for allowing their children to truant. Of those 236 were female and the majority were single mums, an Echo investigation has revealed.

Cardiff council had the highest caseload of the six local education authorities, bringing 160 parents to court in 2007 – 135 were mums or grandmothers.

Government research shows children from single-parent families are more at risk of playing truant and more mums end up in the dock because in the majority of cases of divorce or separation children live with them at the family home.

The law requires parents to make sure their children receive a full-time education. The local authority has the power to prosecute persistent offenders. The maximum penalty is three months in prison or a fine of up to £2,500.

All of the six local authorities in South Wales prosecuted more women than men last year because of their children’s poor school attendance record.

Council officers say in general, prosecutions prove a successful deterrent. But parents facing court claim they cannot make their teenagers stay in school and argue that punishing them does not tackle the real reasons for the absence.

Keith Burfoot, a senior education welfare officer for Cardiff council, said: “An analysis of the figures show there are links between children who truant and their socio-economic background. We find that the majority of our prosecutions involve children who live with either their mum or grandmother.”

This year the council is hoping to redress the balance and ensure dads, even if they do not live with their children but have parental responsibility, are also prosecuted.

Recent figures from Wales’ statistical directorate show that Cardiff has the highest level of unauthorised absence from schools in Wales. But after a year which had almost double the number of truancy prosecutions in Cardiff compared to 2006, the council believes it is seeing improvements.

Mr Burfoot added: “Taking prosecutions is a last resort. Its success does depend on the person’s attitude to the sanctions of the courts. Year on year Cardiff has seen a slight dip on the numbers of unauthorised absences and it is fair to say that we are seeing a slow and steady decline. Prosecutions are often a wake-up call and a fine can prove to be a deterrent.”

But the National Union of Teachers Cymru has raised concerns about the level of prosecutions against mums.

David Evans, secretary of NUT Cymru, said: “Supporting teachers faced with unacceptable pupil behaviour is essential, but progress can only be made if parents are involved. Unless parents value education, one-off initiatives like truancy sweeps will be a cosmetic exercise.

“The family approach is exactly the kind of imaginative, innovative initiative which a devolved Wales should be capable of. Central to tackling truancy is getting to grips with pupil disaffection. Too often negative feelings about school can be passed on to a younger generation from parents and even grandparents.”

He added: “Two lessons need to be learned from the last quarter of a century when too often the national curriculum straitjacket and the testing regime have seemingly placed a low value on enthusiasm and on education and learning as valuable in themselves. One is that learning can be fun. The second is that learning really is lifelong.”

Parentline Plus says truancy is associated with family problems, educational issues, bullying and pressures of school work, as well as behavioural problems or even drug misuse.

A spokeswoman for the charity said that often parents are threatened with punishment without getting the support they need, adding: “The majority of parents do not collude with their children’s behaviour and are desperate for help to address the underlying reasons why their children truant.”

Tackling the causes of truancy is exactly what staff at Llanrumney High School in Cardiff aim to achieve on a daily basis. Parents are informed if their children don’t arrive at school by 10am and pupils with a poor attendance record are encouraged to attend the breakfast club or after-school clubs to create a more positive attitude to school life.

Lynda Duffy, who works as a community-focus schools co-ordinator in the area said: “We work one-to-one with parents and run parenting programmes about the importance of setting clear boundaries including the importance of coming to school, which very much goes hand in hand with showing love and caring for their children. Our out-of-hours provision helps develop a sense of belonging for pupils.”

‘Nobody is helping me or my son...’

“YOU can send me to jail but it won’t make my son stay at school.”

That was the verdict from a Caerphilly mum who is facing court because her son truants.

The single mum says she has tried everything to keep him in school, but despite a fine of £200 and threats of further prosecution, her son ignores her pleas.

The 14-year-old had a good school record until this academic year. Last term he missed 72 half-day sessions in 10 weeks, the equivalent of not attending 31 days out of 50.

The call centre worker, who did not want to be named, said: “It feels like I am being punished by him and by the system. I don’t know what these letters mean or what I can do to stop this nightmare. They just keep piling up. My son used to go to school regularly. But recently he just does not want to be there. I take him to school and I phone to check he is still there later that day. I work. I can’t physically be there to keep him in school all day. I don’t know what else I can do.”

The mum of three said she did not have problems with her older children, and despite attempts to talk to her son she could not get any answers.

“I have had meetings at the school. I have explained my situation. I want him to be at school but nobody is helping me and nobody is helping my son.”

School attendance and truancy - the law

Q What are the responsibilities of a parent to ensure a child must attend school?

A By law, all children aged five to 15 must receive a suitable full-time education.

Q When can a child legally be allowed to take time off school?

A When the child is too ill to attend and when the school has authorised the absence.

Q What action can local authorities take if a child is missing from school without good reason?

A Education welfare officers can offer support in the form of a parenting contract which is an agreement between a parent and the school’s governing body or the LEA.

Under the contract a parent agrees to do certain things such as ensure their child arrives at school punctually every day.

Punishments can include penalty notices which carry a fine.

In serious cases when taken to court, parents can be fined up to £2,500, be given a community order or, in extreme cases, a jail sentence of up to three months.