Six local families charged with aiding truancy...

[dutchman]

Six Warwickshire families have faced charges so far this year for letting their children skip school.



One couple ended up with a six month supervisision order, unpaid community work and were forced to go onto a parenting programme after admitting allowing their child to regularly miss classes.

Two cases in Nuneaton saw another couple, and a mother fined a total of over £1000 pounds.

Three sets of mums and dads in Rugby have also been ordered to pay cash so far this year.

Over the last 12 months, the council has taken 35 cases to court.

Tim Scott from the Education Social Work Service said: “We take the matter of truancy very seriously and, as these cases demonstrate, we are not afraid to use the law to demonstrate to parents how important it is for their children to attend school.

“Although we would only choose prosecution in the most persistent cases and always with the best interests of the child in mind, we will take this course of action to ensure all children get the chance for a good education.

Heather Timms, the Cabinet member for Children, Young People and Families at Warwickshire County Council said: especially during this time when jobs and training opportunities are in great demand. Government research shows that half a day a week missed during years 10 and 11 can mean the loss of a grade for every GCSE taken which could make a big difference to a pupil’s options for the future.”

The figures have come out as police and education officers in Coventry step up patrols at places like Pool Meadow Bus Station and shopping centres in the city, to try to tackle a traditional rise in the number of pupils skipping school in the lead up to half-term.