Millions of school days are missed every term as children play truant, and the number of parents prosecuted for allowing their kids to skip school has reached a record high.

But is punishing the parents for children’s absenteeism the best way to reduce truancy?

The latest truancy figures, published by the Department for Education (DfE) in October, showed that around 56,500 primary and secondary pupils were missing from lessons without permission on a typical day in the autumn and spring terms of 2011/12. The levels were similar to the previous year.

According to recently released Ministry of Justice figures, in 2011 a total of 12,777 parents in England and Wales were prosecuted for failing to ensure their children attended school.

This is up from 11,757 prosecutions in 2010, and 11,188 in 2009.

Of those taken to court in 2011, 9,836 were found guilty and sentenced – a rise of 7.5% from the previous year.

Around two-thirds of those convicted – 6,438 people – were fined, 2,543 were given a conditional discharge and 154 were given an absolute discharge.

The rest got either a community sentence or a suspended sentence, or were dealt with in another way.

The DfE says children must get a full-time education that meets their needs, and if a child is unexpectedly missing from school and the local council thinks they’re not being educated at home, parents will be contacted by an educational welfare officer – even if a child is only missing for a day.

Head teachers can impose a £60 penalty notice on parents for their child’s absenteeism, rising to £120 if the fine isn’t paid quickly. The penalty notices are used as an early intervention, and an alternative to prosecution.

The DfE warns: “You can be prosecuted if you don’t give your child an education.

“You'll normally get warnings and offers of help from the local council first.”

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) says there's now a high level of attendance in schools, with strong accountability measures such as electronic systems that monitor both attendance in school and during lessons.

Prosecuting a parent for their child’s truancy “would be seen as a very last resort,” Brian Lightman, general secretary of the ASCL, has said.

However, Alison Ryan, education policy adviser for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, questionned whether penalising parents gets children back in school. “The effectiveness of that hasn’t really been proved,” she said. “There’s not a massive amount of evidence that shows punitive measures work particularly well, and the risk is that a child might come to school but not be engaged there.

“That can cause a whole heap of other issues that teachers have to deal with. You don’t just want the kids there, you want them participating and learning and not stopping anyone else from participating and learning.”

She points out that it’s crucial for schools to engage children so they want to attend, and for schools to be able to do that, the child needs to have a stable home environment.

“Children need a home environment that means when they come to school they can get on and learn, and there are plenty of children and young people who come from environments where that's very difficult.

“We have to be careful not to say it’s the parent's fault. There can be situations where a parent
might not be able to cope, or has a chaotic home life or other issues, or they might have the best will in the world but are holding down two or three jobs to cope financially, so they find it difficult to supervise their children and make sure they’re doing what they should be doing.”

The key, she said, is for parents and schools to work together and involve the child in any dialogue.

It's vital to look at the reasons why a child’s truanting, she said, as it may be because there are
issues at home, they’re being bullied at school, or they’re scared of going to school because they’'re lonely or vulnerable, or even have undiagnosed mental health issues.

Record numbers of parents are being taken to court over their child's truancy.

We ask teachers and parents whether prosecutions are the best way to deal with the problem

WHAT IS TRUANCY?

Truancy means missing school on a regular basis for no good reason. It is also sometimes called ‘unauthorised absence’.

By law, all children who are registered at school must attend regularly. Home-educated children do not have to attend school.

TRUANCY MATTERS

Children who skip school don’t do as well in tests, assessments and exams.

If your child doesn’t show up for lessons, their school record will suggest to future employers that they are unreliable.

Being out of school during school hours gives your child time to kill – and research has shown that this can lead to criminal or antisocial behaviour.

WHAT TO DO

Taking an interest in your child’s school life is the most important way to avoid truancy. The more engaged you are as a parent in your child’s education, the more likely your child is to attend and enjoy school.

So always make time to talk to your child about how they’re getting on at school. Keep in touch with your child’s teacher and don’t miss parent-teacher evenings. Also, try to attend school events if you possibly can.

Don’t wait for niggles to become big problems before you address them with teachers. If you suspect your child of truancy, don’t turn a blind eye. And don’t cover up for your child or make excuses.