Truancy: go for the parents

Should parents of truants be jailed?

A "fast track" scheme to tackle truancy by prosecuting parents has been a great success, according to government figures this morning.

The scheme has been running as a pilot in 20 education authorities, and has seen a dramatic reduction in truancy rates, according to the Department for Education and skills.

Now the government wants to extend it to the rest of England this Autumn

But is it right to hold parents responsible for their children's failings?

We debated the problems of tackling truancy with Ron Collinson of Liverpool City Council and Gwen Evans of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers

And, we want to hear what you think. Whether you're a parent or a child: is it right to threaten adults with jail, when children don't turn up for school?
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The government figures relate to a pilot scheme in 20 education authorities.

Under the 'fast-track' scheme, parents of persistent truants are given a court date and then have 12 weeks in which to persuade their children to go to school.

Truancy

We make no apologies for pursuing prosecutions as a last resort.

Department for Education and Skills

If school attendance improves, then the parents don't have to go to court.

Since its launch in January, the scheme has dealt with 1,500 parents.

About half of those cases landed up in court and the DfES claims this is proof that the threat of prosecution is the most effective way of dealing with truancy.

There is also new advice for magistrates on parental prosecutions which aims to educate them about the fast track process before a case reaches court.

The DfES says: "We make no apologies for pursuing prosecutions as a last resort. Our job is to make sure the procedure is fair and balanced."

On its website the DfES says: "Everyday over 50,000 pupils a day miss school without permission and estimated 7.5 million school days are missed each year through truancy.

"Research shows that these children are easily drawn into crime and anti-social behaviour and more likely to be unemployed after leaving school."

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