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Magistrates Court procedures
Guidelines for parents/carers
School attendance and the law
The Education Act 1996 states that parents must ensure their
children receive appropriate education according to their age,
ability and aptitude. This usually means ensuring a child
registered at school attends regularly.
Any person who has care of the child or who has parental
responsibility is responsible for ensuring good school
attendance.
There are a number of offences with which a parent/carer can be
prosecuted, they are:
- (a) Parents who refuse to register a child at a suitable school
without good reason may receive a School Attendance Order from the
local education authority (LEA). Failure to comply with the order
can result in prosecution.
- (b) “If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered
pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school, his/her
parent/carer is guilty of an offence.”
- (c) If a parent/carer knows that the child is failing to attend
regularly at the school and fails without reasonable justification
to cause him to do so. The penalties for these offences are set out
below under sentencing.
Prosecution of parents/carers
Prosecution is a serious step, which an Education Welfare
Officer (EWO) only undertakes after discussion with the school, the
Senior Education Welfare Officer and any other relevant person.
Parents/carers will have been given the opportunity to contact the
EWO and make efforts to improve their child's attendance before
taking this step.
Evidence for prosecution is supplied by the school in the form
of an attendance certificate signed by the headteacher. This must
be accepted by the magistrates as a true record of attendance. The
EWO will prepare the case for prosecution. If you wish to talk to
the EWO about the case you may receive a formal caution:
“You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence
if you do not mention when questioned something which you later
rely on in court. Anything you say may be given in evidence”.
Defences against prosecution
Parents have the right to challenge the attendance certificate
or grounds for prosecution for the following reasons:
- The Headteacher authorised the absence.
- With leave (approved holiday)
- Sickness or unavoidable cause
- Religious observance.
- The school is beyond the statutory limits for walking and no
transport is available. The limits are two miles for children under
eight and three miles for pupils aged eight and over.
Parents must demonstrate that one or more of these grounds apply
if they wish to challenge the reasons for non-attendance recorded
on the register.
The proceedings
If you are requested to attend at court you will be sent a
summons stating the time, date and place. You should receive copies
of the prosecution evidence. You will also be asked if you intend
to plead guilty or not guilty. A prompt reply may result in the
case being dealt with quickly and require only one court
appearance.
It is in your interest to obtain legal advice. On the day of the
hearing you should arrive on time and report to the court's
reception. If you have difficulties attending or any other
questions regarding the proceedings contact the court and/or the
EWO.
Sentencing
If you have pleaded or been found guilty to the offence for
which you have been summonsed the magistrates have the power to
impose penalties as follows: in the case of (a) or (b) above, a
fine of up to £1000 . In the case of (c) above a fine of £2500 and
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months. Costs may
also be awarded against you. Fines and costs are collected by the
court bailiff.
Education Supervision Order (ES0)
The magistrates can request the Education Welfare Service to
consider applying for an ESO. This can be instead of a prosecution
or in addition.
ESOs allow the EWO to give directions to parents in order to
secure proper education. If the EWO wishes to apply for an ESO this
would usually be separate from a prosecution and the hearing would
be in the Family Proceedings Court.
Parents and children must be consulted before an order is
applied for and the court must agree an ESO is in the best
interests of the child.
The first order is for one year. Extensions can be requested
which may be for up to three years at a time and these extensions
are possible until the child leaves school.
ESOs encourage parents and children to work in partnership with
the EWO but if parents do not comply with directions they can be
taken back to court and fined. Cases can be referred to Social
Services to make investigations and consider further
proceedings.
Child employment
All school age children who wish to work must be registered by
their employer with the Local Education Authority (LEA). Parents
sign the application and are asked to give relevant medical
information about the child.
Children are then issued with an employment permit, which they
should produce when requested by an EWO or police officer.
Employers who do not register children for work are acting
illegally and as a result their insurance may not cover any
incident which involves a child of school age.
EWOs are responsible for ensuring work does not interfere with a
child's education. They can ask parents/carers to give information
about their child's employment. which will be used to decide
whether the child is being employed in such a way as to make then
unfit for school. Parents/carers failing to provide such
information can be prosecuted under Section 559 of the
Education Act 1996.
Parents who employ their own child can also be prosecuted if
they breach the employment regulations. If you need further
information about child employment and the law, contact the
Education Welfare Service.
Advice
The officer dealing with your case in court is an EWO who has
specialist knowledge and experience in the courts. They can be
contacted at the Education Office. If you require legal advice
lists of solicitors are available at the Citizens Advice Bureau
(www.citizensadvice.org.uk/).
Parents are strongly advised to seek legal help at the earliest
opportunity. This may reduce delay and expense in dealing with your
case.
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