Magistrates in Wigan have fined five local parents for failing to send their children to school on a regular basis.
Under section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 a parent is guilty of an offence if they fail to secure the regular attendance of their child at the school they are registered at. The maximum penalty on summary conviction is a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (currently £1,000).
Under section 444(1A) of the Act a parent is guilty of an offence if they knowingly fail to ensure the same. The maximum penalty on summary conviction is a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (currently £2,500), a period of 3 months imprisonment or both.
The names of the parents have been reported in the local press, so we must assume that the court omitted to make an order to protect the identities of their children.
The first couple, who failed to attend court, were each fined £660 and ordered to pay £100 costs and £66 victim surcharge. Their 5-year-old daughter only attended school 66 percent of the time between February and July 2018, despite living only a five minute walk from her school.
The mother of a 15-year-old boy received the same penalty when Magistrates heard that he had an attendance of 73 percent in the last school term.
The mother of a teenage girl with a 70 percent school attendance last year received the same penalty. The girl has 100 percent attendance so far this year, but we are only three weeks in.
The mother of a boy received a lesser penalty when Magistrates heard he had more than 90 percent attendance. Wigan Council continued with the prosecution because of his poor punctuality last term. She was fined £60 and ordered to pay £50 costs and £30 victim surcharge. Although the article does not specifically mention anything, we suspect she provided information to assist the court in pitching the fine at the right level.
Failing to attend school on a regular basis negatively impacts on a child's academic performance, perhaps having a detrimental effect on their career, health and lifestyle choices in later life.
Hopefully these sentences will encourage irresponsible parents to take a greater interest in their child's education and life prospects.
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