Clampdown on school truancy to hit hard up parents, claim teachers' union

Tough new measures to reduce the number of days lost at school by thousands of students were announced Tuesday by the British government.

Penalty fines imposed on parents will be deducted from state child benefits if parents fail or refuse to pay. In the worst cases parents can now be fined up to 2,500 British pounds and face a prison sentence under the new tough anti-truancy rules.

But teachers' leaders immediately attacked the clampdown and warned it could drive some children into deeper deprivation.

Currently it is against the law for parents to ensure their children fail to attend school in term time without permission. Although sanctions are already in place many local education authorities do not take action.

That is expected to change after the government announced its intention to introduce tougher measures to address truancy, including deducting the cost of unpaid penalty notices from Child Benefit.

A government spokesman said: "The planned changes will make it simpler for schools and local authorities to tackle parents who allow their child to be absent from school without permission."

Local authorities will be given a new duty to pursue all penalties, according to the spokesman. The new mandatory penalty for each offence will be 60 pounds (91 U.S. dollars) if paid within 21 days and 120 pounds (183 U.S. dollars) subsequently. Criminal prosecution will continue to enable fines of up to 2,500 pounds (3,800 U.S. dollars) and possible imprisonment.

The most recent figures show 200,000 fewer pupils regularly missing school compared with five years ago. Overall, the absence rate in Britain is down from 6 percent in 2009 year to 4.4 percent last year. It meant over those five years 14.5 million fewer school days were lost to overall absence.

The government spokesman added: "Reducing school absence remains a top priority for this government. Evidence shows that good attendance is linked to attainment. These changes will ensure every child, regardless of their background, is given the opportunity to reach their potential."

The clampdown has been welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron who said truancy was harmful to children's life chances.

"All the evidence is that if children consistently miss school, they get a worse education, they get worse results and as a result they have less good prospects for the rest of their lives," he said.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Britain's largest teachers' union,however, said collecting truancy fines directly from parents' child benefit payments is not only unjustifiably punitive but could harm the child's interests.

"The policy runs the risk of increasing family debt which has long term negative consequences for children," Blower said.

The NUT said school-age carers looking after sick parents could suffer as a result of the new measures.

"It is unacceptable that this group of children are left largely ignored or dependent upon woefully inadequate support mechanisms," added Blower. Endit