Parents of frequently absent schoolchildren get court ultimatum

Parents of children who are missing substantial amounts of school were warned by a judge to improve or face court again.

A previous court was told how the children — aged between nine and 14 — were from a large family and the parents, who live within 10 minutes’ walk from a school, had come up with “a series of excuses” for not sending their children to school.

Last May, that court was told that one of the children had not spent a single full day at secondary school, while three younger children had missed 105 days, 100 days and 81 days at primary level, and rates of absenteeism without genuine excuse ranged from 37% to 32% in a given period earlier this year.