Parent of child absent from 51 school days brought before court
A HUNGERFORD mother was brought before Newbury magistrates because of her child’s repeated school truancy.
The woman was made subject to a Parenting Order and can be fined up to £1,000 if she breaches it, in a prosecution brought by West Berkshire Council on Thursday, June 19.
Laura Knowles, for the council, said the parent had repeatedly failed to engage with education officers and added that there was a history of unauthorised absences involving a teenaged child.
She said that between October 28 last year and April 15 this year, the teenager clocked up 51 such absences from a Newbury school.
Miss Knowles added: “That represents an attendance of 72.51 per cent. The school’s attendance target is 96 per cent.”
She said the parent “often said her child was unwell, but provided insufficient medical evidence when requested by the school.
“There have been attempts to try to improve the attendance record, but these have had limited or no success due to a lack of engagement on the part of the mother.” She went on: “There is a history of this and there have been issues in the past, in particular in 2012. That was resolved but the matter has now been reopened.”
The council asked magistrates to make the mother subject to a Parenting Order.
The defendant admitted being the parent of a child of compulsory school age who failed to attend regularly. She told magistrates: “I fully take responsibility.” She added that when the child was off school “it’s been due to illness, but I didn’t have the medical evidence to back it up.”
Magistrates made the mother subject to a 12-month conditional discharge.
They also ordered her to pay £150 with a statutory surcharge of £15 and agreed to make her subject to a Parenting Order.
Such orders have been available nationally since June 2000 and West Berkshire Council states on its website: “A Parenting Order can be for up to 12 months, and will mean that you have to meet with a member of the Youth Offending Team to complete a programme of work to help develop your parenting skills.
“Parents are required to attend sessions once a week for a maximum of 12 weeks of the order. These can involve working individually with a member of the Youth Offending Team, or meeting as part of a group with other parents experiencing similar issues with their children.
“If parents fail to attend for sessions, they can be returned to court for breach action. The court can then fine them up to £1,000.”