The war with 'sick-note culture'.
The problem of truancy is common, and does not concern only Great Britain but many countries in the world. In the paper below I would try to tackle the problem of a specific kind of truancy. It consists in parents' agreement for their children absence at school. The "sick-note culture", as an allowance for truancy is called, is not a new problem. The government of Great Britain tried to deal with parents who authorise their children absence for a long time. I managed to find the earliest articles related to the subject, dated in February 2002. Since then there were taken many actions in order to deal with a problem. In April 2002 the Prime Minister Tony Blair considered plans to cut child benefit which was 10.75 for the first child and 10.55 for additional children of persistent truants. He also found shocking the results of a truancy sweep, which pointed at the fact that 80% of children were with a parent. In May the famous incident took place: an Oxfordshire mother was jailed for 60 days for allowing her two daughters to persistently truant from school. She finally was released after 28 days but was "determined" to make sure her children attend school. It was the first time the court hav
During truancy sweeps, teams of police and educational welfare officers patrol streets, shopping centres and known truancy hotspots, challenging young people and their parents to provide a legitimate reason for being out of school. For example taking a holiday during term time can mean that children miss important school time and coursework and it will be difficult for them to catch up later on. Proof of illness was required from a GP or a clinician before the child's absence was approved. Abta's chief executive, Ian Raynolds said: "Our members always encourage families to book early by providing excellent early discounts and free child places for what are always busy school holiday periods. And as being Polish teacher, I wish the Polish government had not introduced the law similar to British one. Parents have a duty to make sure they are doing all that they can to instil discipline in their children. 25 families have appeared before the panel with 24 of the children showing a "marked and sustained improvement in attendance" as a result. The travel agency operators insist they are not exploiting holidaymakers and say prices must rise during peak seasons to spread firms' costs throughout the year and sustain them in times of low demand. It is definite, that for children's upbringing, parents are answerable. It was overseen by the chairman of education and was to bring parents to account for their children's absence. Sixty LEAs have been given the power to "fast track" prosecutions and from early summer this year police and educational welfare officers will be allowed to issue 100 pounds on the spot fines to parents of truants. However, going for holiday is not the only reason of children's absence at schools. It is a greater problem than habitual truancy. At the end of 2003 the matter of authorised absence came back on the first pages of newspapers because of the proposal to penalise parents who take their family on holiday in term time. I think, the law, which says that taking a child out of school for a holiday without the head's permission is unacceptable and will be treated as truancy, may work.
Common topics in this essay:
Sixty LEAs,
Ian Raynolds,
Tony Blair,
,
Ivan Levis,
Education Act,
Kirby Liverpool,
Education Authorities,
Agents Abta,
Travel Section,
attend school,
police educational welfare,
travel agents,
local education,
children attend,
100 pounds,
children absence,
children's absence,
holiday term,
educational welfare officers,
children attend school,
police educational,
term-time holidays,
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Acceptance Essays
