Parenting orders, curfews and reparation orders were introduced as an alternative to custodial sentences. Yet few local authorities resort to these measures when faced with youths who steal cars and other property, get into fights or prove to be a public nuisance. Peer pressure Truancy researcher Professor Ken Reid, of the Swansea Institute, doubts tougher penalties for parents will make a difference to school attendance. Under the Education Act 1944, parents of children aged five to 16 are required to ensure that they receive a suitable education by regular attendance at school. Schools are required to take attendance registers twice a day, and note any absences as authorised or unauthorised.
Local authorities are responsible for chasing up students cutting classes.
The majority of parents with truant children do not take the current law seriously. Instead of cracking down on parents, Professor Reid says the government should provide programmes to support parents desperate to keep their children in school. Parents I deal with are often expressing their complete frustration that there is no help in the system. The children leave the homes in the morning, but between leaving the homes in the morning and getting school, they change their mind. More and more school students skip specific classes, or plan ahead with friends to cut school, he says.