I was a school truant but fining more parents won't help solve the problem
29 February 2024, 13:09 | Updated: 29 February 2024, 13:10
Aged four, I had my first - and, to date, only - eureka moment.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
A bout of flu, or more likely a slight cold, prompted a trip to the school receptionist’s office, where I was given a small cup of tepid ‘hot’ chocolate, a colouring book and, before long, my mother arrived to whisk me away.
It was barely eleven o’clock and I was already home from school; it was as though I’d hacked time itself.
Armed with this knowledge, it occurred to me that if I could fake illness, I had the chance to completely circumvent the school curriculum - to be the master of my own destiny, spending weekdays watching cartoons and joyfully playing my PlayStation.
And so began my truancy journey. Over the next decade, I set about perfecting the art of the feigned illness, leaving no stone unturned. I employed every tactic, adopting a gravelly, insipid-sounding voice and making use of props around the house (using the heat from the radiator to create the impression of a temperature was a particular favourite of mine).
Unfortunately for me, my mum was savvy enough to deduce what I was doing. This was a problem in the first few years of my truancy career; she could see through my acting brilliance and various contrivances. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to bunk off as much as I desired.
Time was on my side, however. As I grew older, it was not possible to simply force me into school anymore - I was simply too big and, living in a single-parent household, often could not do anything about it.
It was behaviour I’m now truly ashamed of, but at the time I was only concerned with devising more days away from school, irrespective of the damage it was doing to my education and to how it made my mum feel.
The reason I share this, though, is because my story captures why the government’s decision to increase the penalties faced by parents whose children are persistently absent is counterproductive.
Put yourself in my mother’s shoes. How would an £80 fine alter her ability to entice a truculent and uncooperative teenager into school?
The only consequence would be that her already stretched finances would be dealt a further blow, one she was effectively powerless to prevent.
Threatening parents with tougher penalties therefore misses the key problem: parents - and single mothers, in particular - need support from the school and local authorities to tackle the crisis of absenteeism.
________
LBC Views provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position. To contact us email views@lbc.co.uk
