House curfew for parent whose child attended one in five lessons

The parents of two children who failed to ensure regular attendance at school have been prosecuted with one given 150 hours of unpaid work and the other a curfew.

Both parents pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates Court 1996 for failing to ensure the regular attendance at school of two of their children under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996.

Having heard the facts, which were that the 14 year old concerned attended 70% of school lessons while the five year old attended just 15% and there with four previous convictions for the same offence, one parent was sentenced to a 12-month Conditional Discharge and a Community Order for unpaid work to be undertaken of 150 hours over the next 12 months.

The other parent was also given a 12 month Conditional Discharge and a Community Order with a curfew between 8pm and 7am with electronic tagging for 3 months.

Both parents were given a Parenting Order. Given the parents’ financial circumstances, no costs were awarded to the local authority.

Breach of the conditional discharge could mean a sentence of up to £2,500 and/or three months imprisonment.

The parenting order, which lasts 12 months, includes three months of counselling and guidance sessions under supervision including the possibility of parenting classes.

Councillor Vanessa Brown, Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, said: “This is a clear signal to the very small minority of parents that fail to ensure their children attend school regularly that the council and the courts take this seriously. All parents of school age children have a moral and legal obligation to ensure their child regularly goes to school as every lesson counts for children.

“The council will prosecute any parent who continually fails to fulfil their legal responsibility and who fails to cooperate with the education welfare service.”