Convictions of parents over children's truancy shows rapid rise: report

More than 7,000 parents a year are being convicted over their children’s truancy from school, according to figures obtained by the Daily Mail.

Statistics obtained from the Ministry of Justice after a Freedom of Information Act request show that more than 32,500 parents have been convicted since the sanctions were introduced in 2001. Nearly 100 have been jailed for up to three months.

In 2008, some 9,506 parents were taken to court for failing to ensure their children go to school. Of these, 7,291 were found guilty.

The Daily Mail reported that the most common penalty was a fine of £2,500. A total of 391 were made to undertake community service, while 11 were immediately imprisoned.

In 2001, a total of 1,961 parents were prosecuted with 1,595 found guilty.

The paper also pointed out that figures from the Department for Children, Schools and Families issued earlier this revealed that truancy rates rose 4% in 2008/09 compared to the previous 12 months.

Ming Zhang, an education welfare officer from Kingston Council in Surrey, told the Daily Mail: “What seems to be happening is councils are setting targets for the number of children they prosecute. I think this is dangerous. Performance should be based on the number of children in school and not the number of parents in court.”

For more information on local authorities’ options when parents fail to send their children to school, click here.