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Cumbria County Council’s Education Welfare Service is now introducing the ‘Fast-track to Prosecution’ initiative throughout the County in their continuing drive to tackle truancy and improve school attendance. 

The ‘Fast-track to Prosecution’ Framework was introduced by the Department for Education and Skills in January 2003 and has been piloted in 30 pathfinder local authorities. Pupils who have attendance problems are identified and given support by both the school and the Education Welfare Service. If the difficulty persists and the parent fails to co-operate the case enters the Fast track process. The parents are then given approximately 12 weeks to improve their child’s attendance or face prosecution.  If a parent is found guilty at a court hearing it could lead to a £1,000 fine. In serious offences each parent can be fined up to £2,500 or jailed for up to three months.

County Councillor Joan Stocker, Cabinet Spokesperson for Education says

“Although overall attendance levels in Cumbria continue to improve, we believe we can make further improvements which will benefit everyone in our society.  Since September Cumbria’s Education Welfare Service, under instruction from the DfES, have a fast-track to prosecution scheme in place.  This new guidance supports 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.”

Linda Rundle, Cumbria County Council’s Senior Education Officer for Attendance & Exclusion says

“The vast majority of parents in Cumbria ensure their children attend school.  For those parents who condone or encourage their child’s truancy the Education Welfare Service will always try and help them to change their behaviour. However when a child is being denied education we must consider the implementation of prosecution proceedings.  This new process concentrates on early intervention and ensures a consistent approach to using prosecutions to tackle school non-attendance.