Parents warned of the consequences of school absenteeism

East Sussex County Council recently brought 40 prosecutions against parents who have either ignored the problem of school absenteeism or failed to work with education welfare officers to address the issue.

The cases were heard by magistrates in Hastings, Eastbourne and Lewes during a three month period as part of the council's on-going work to crackdown on persistent absence.

At the hearings fines totalling 2,215 with 1,210 in costs were handed out following 18 prosecutions at Hastings magistrates.

These included a 350 fine for a parent whose daughter had attended a mere 5% of classes between November 2009 and March this year.

At Eastbourne 14 prosecutions led to 1,370 in fines with 1,470 in costs.

One parent who pleaded guilty received a 12-month community order with a requirement of 40 hours unpaid work.

Her daughter had failed to attend school between September 2009 and January 2010.

There were six prosecutions heard by Lewes magistrates leading to 286 in fines and 305 in costs.

The parents of a girl who had failed to attend school between September and December 2009 pleaded guilty and received a conditional discharge.

Court action is a last resort and is part of a wide range of work the council's Education Welfare Service does to encourage attendance and tackle the causes of absence.

This involves working closely with pupils and families where attendance is an issue.

Councillor David Elkin, the council's Lead Member for Learning and School Effectiveness, said:

"Thankfully the vast majority of parents appreciate how important good school attendance is for ensuring children get the very best education they can.

"This means we only end up having to take court action when all other attempts to address the issue have been exhausted.

"But we do have these powers and if we feel we have no alternative to make parents face up to their responsibilities, we will use them."