Couple jailed for son's truancy

The court was told the parents had failed their son

An estranged couple have been given jail sentences for repeatedly failing to ensure their son went to school.

The 15-year-old, who can't be named for legal reasons, has one of the worst attendance records Flintshire Local Education Authority has ever seen.

The boy's 41-year-old father was jailed for 20 weeks, his 38-year-old mother has been given a sentence of two months.

It is the first such case in the county which has resulted in jail sentences.

The council says they also believe the couple are the first in north Wales to be jailed for the offence.

The couple, who live apart, had three previous convictions for failing to ensure regular school attendance.

Damien Gaskell, prosecuting for Flintshire local education authority, said it was "a systematic failure to ensure that the child received an education over a number of years."

He told magistrates that it was certainly not a victimless crime.

"The child is suffering because of a lack of education which is bound to affect his future work prospects," he said.

Two of those were the aggravated form of the offence which required knowledge that the child was not attending school, and was therefore subject to a potential prison sentence.

The boy previously had one of the worst attendance records ever dealt with in the local authority - just 17 per cent.

It had improved, but was only 30 per cent, Flintshire magistrates' court at Mold was told.

Magistrates told the parents they had abdicated their responsibility to ensure the boy received a proper education.

The court was told that while they were in custody arrangements had been made for the boy to live with a relative who had children of her own.