03/11/03 - Truancy ........ only a fool would miss school

This month, Cumbria County Council’s Education Welfare Service launches its School Attendance campaign, ‘Truancy………… only a fool would miss schools’  to raise awareness of how important regular school attendance is to a child’s education and future.  Local Bus Company, Stagecoach will be advertising the importance of the issue.  The logo for the Campaign will be on the side of many buses travelling out and about throughout the County during November.  

County Councillor Joan Stocker, Cabinet Spokesperson for Education says

“Cumbria County Council’s Local Education Welfare Service works very hard to keep unnecessary absence from school as low as possible.  Many types of intervention are used to try and help families experiencing difficulties relating to school attendance.  Truancy sweeps are carried out in partnership with the Police where pupils and parents are given advice and information about the law on school attendance and are offered support from the Education Welfare Service to try and make sure that pupils do not miss out on their education.  Parenting courses run throughout the County giving parents support and advice and allow them to join a network of other parents experiencing difficulties with their child’s attendance.  

However there are occasions where this kind of intervention hasn’t worked and the County Council has no choice but to take parents to court either to prosecute or to seek an education supervision order. Avoidable absence is taken very seriously and where parents do not engage with professionals trying to help them then it is important that we have some legal recourse.  

Every day in school counts.  Persistent truants achieve low, or even no grades, which is a complete waste of potential, and a passport to unemployment, anti-social behaviour and criminality.  While the vast majority of parents are willing and able to make sure their children attend school regularly, it is a sad fact that a minority do not. For those parents who deliberately condone or encourage their child’s truancy, the message is clear - prosecution works.”  

Barry Armstrong, Acting Attendance & Exclusion Manager says

“Although overall attendance levels in Cumbria continue to improve, we must not be complacent.  We believe we can make further improvements and that these will benefit everyone in our society. They will give our young people even better opportunities in adult life, and will enable them to make the best possible contribution to our communities.  

Since September Cumbria’s Education Welfare Service, under instruction from the DfES, have a fast-track to prosecution scheme in place.  This system is used where a child has missed 10 days or more of school in any 4-week period without an acceptable reason, and the parents have not resolved the situation with the school.  Parents will then be given 12 weeks to improve the attendance of their child; if they don’t then the case will be referred directly to Court.  This new guidance support our continuing drive to tackle truancy and improve school attendance, promoting effective support where it is needed, or efficient prosecution where it is rejected.  

Every support and assistance is offered to parents to help them get their children into school, but there are times to prosecute parents who are not unable, but simply unwilling to fulfil their legal and moral obligations.”