Calderdale parents will face fines over children's school non-attendance

Calderdale Council’s Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion, Mark Randall, said the council understood some parents were anxious about their children returning to school on September 7, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Coun Audrey Smith (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) raised the issue during a discussion about the return to school at the council’s Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Board.

She asked if parents would be fined for non-attendance.

“Have the council decided how they are going to deal with fines on parents?” she said.

Mr Randall said the answer was that the council would work with parents over non-attendance issues and understood some were anxious about the return to school, for example in a situation where children or parents were shielding.

The council would work with schools and parents on individual cases.

“It won’t just be a one-stop shop response to fining,” he said.

But there might be a case where parents needed to be fined if it had been a long-standing issue or if it was discovered the pandemic virus was being used as an excuse for non-attendance.

Coun Smith asked if there was an appeals process.

Mr Randall said there was not, but he hoped the right decision could be reached by working with parents.

The final decision over fining lay with local authorities anyway, he said.

All factors would be taken carefully into account and a decision arrived at.

“I can’t say we won’t be fining any parents because sometimes the parents need to be fined to promote a positive attendance,” said Mr Randall.