Record pupil truancy warnings issued

More official warnings than ever before were sent last year to parents about their children failing to attend school — but only a handful were convicted.

Figures from the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB), which works within the Child and Family Agency, show 553 School Attendance Notices (SANs) were issued to parents in 2014 — up from 537 in the previous year.

If parents do not heed the warning and take steps to ensure their children return to school, the next step is the issuing of a court summons — which happened 137 times last year.