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Education

Truancy fines out of your Child Benefit

20 replies

MamaBearAlicee · 07/10/2015 16:52

Cameron has said that if you fail to pay a truancy fine then it will be taken out of your child benefit. Link at the bottom to explain in more detail.

I think this is a good idea as most of the cases of truancy are children in primary education and is the parents fault really. I think if these parents know that they'll be loosing their benefits they will be more likely to stop taking the easy option of letting there kiddies stay at home and fight with them to make them go to school. Education is very important.

People are moaning that the child benefit belongs to the child and that they are picking on the poor.

I buy whatever I need for my child, if it's less than the child benefit or more. He will never go short. The rest is spent on the house and then husband and I. The benefit is there to help parents look after their children it does not belong to the kids.

I do not class myself as poor - I am not rich but I am not poor. I get Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits, but I have a mortgage and I have small luxuries. A mini break next week. But we could get by with out the benefits they just pay the council tax really. I hate that people always moan about the tories picking on the poor. This way they don't have to take a certain percentage of the people avoiding the fines to court saving the country money. They will still follow up on the 'rich' people to make sure fines are paid.

What's the deal? It's not like they are pocketing the benefit they took off you are they? It goes back into the system, where? I don't know. But goes back.

Bit of a rant there I'm sorry Blush
Wanted to know other people's opinions on the matter.

www.theguardian.com/education/2015/oct/06/parents-who-fail-to-pay-truancy-fines-to-have-child-benefit-docked

OP posts:
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sugar21 · 07/10/2015 16:54

This will not end well

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NewLife4Me · 07/10/2015 16:55

Obviously you know nothing about school refusal OP.

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ottothedog · 07/10/2015 16:56

gosh 'the poor' is people earning under 60k is it now?

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meditrina · 07/10/2015 16:57

Well, it might be better than New Labour policy of fines backed by prison.

(or are those being kept?)

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Alfieisnoisy · 07/10/2015 16:58

It's a crappy idea.

I wonder what they will do for those parents who don't get child benefit.

School refusal does happen. It happened to my son who is autistic. Thankfully he is now in a special school where he is properly supported.

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AnyoneButAndre · 07/10/2015 17:01

What do you mean "most truancy is children in primary education"? Did you just make that up because you felt like it? It is of course, completely untrue.

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Sirzy · 07/10/2015 17:04

Problem is what about those children who are school refusers?

What about those where parents are at their wits end trying to get their child to school?

Realistically only a tiny amount of truancy is going to come from cases where parents don't care

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Lurkedforever1 · 07/10/2015 17:05

It's a crap idea. Taking out the parents who are well off enough not to care, I'd say truancy fines are mainly applied to two different groups. Parents who just don't give a fuck, in which case if you take the child benefit, it will be the kids going without not the parents. Second group parents who are actually trying their best and there are other circumstances/ factors involved, in which case taking the child benefit will just make their situation harder. Either way it's a hell of a lot of kids who'll suffer for the odd parent that just needed a kick to get their arse in gear.

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NewLife4Me · 07/10/2015 17:08

Alfie

Sadly as you will probably know you aren't on your own
Along with children with sn are others who the system doesn't always support as it should.
The gov would do better to sort out why they use the term truant instead of children for whom we don't support.
I am lucky to never have experienced problems such as these, but have met so many that have, especially during our years of H.ed
My friends dd has/had anorexia, she nearly died last year and received no support from the system, I don't blame teachers for this.

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MissMarpleCat · 07/10/2015 17:10

This is fucking outrageous!

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HackAttack · 07/10/2015 17:14

I've worked with headteachers and education welfare officers who would welcome this. School refusal is not treated the same if the parent is working with the school. The majority of cases I worked with were just parents not caring. I've had a number of parents openly say it's too hard to get up early and other such poor excuses, sometimes with very unhappy children who would like to learn!

Child benefit and child tax credit is meant to support a parent in meeting a child's needs. If you are not doing that then why should you keep getting money?

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NewLife4Me · 07/10/2015 17:18

Mama

I suggest you go away and do some research and then maybe come back with an apology to the parents here you are bound to offend.

Otherwise you are just a gf.

As you say education is important but it's important for every child not just those that fit the gov given mould.

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minifingerz · 07/10/2015 19:41

"School refusal is not treated the same if the parent is working with the school."

That's not the impression I was given when my dd was truanting and school refusing.

"The majority of cases I worked with were just parents not caring"

If I hadn't had the support of my wider family when we were going through the worst of dd's school problems I think I would have ended up saying 'I don't care' simply out of utter despair and desperation and a failure to find ways of improving the situation.

"Child benefit and child tax credit is meant to support a parent in meeting a child's needs. If you are not doing that then why should you keep getting money?"

Maybe using it to feed them, clothe them and heat their home.

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Lurkedforever1 · 07/10/2015 19:54

Can't remember which exact body it was but when that smarmy faced cunty bollocks Cameron was on bbc breakfast they actually said the teachers (federation maybe) were firmly opposed to the idea, which doesn't match up with your claims hack

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NewLife4Me · 07/10/2015 20:14

Hack

I'm sure you do your best but with respect you work for the government who are responsible for the policies and procedures of the education system.
The belief being that one size fits all, which we all know isn't the case.
Unless I'm wrong it's your job or you work with people whose job it is to get children into school not to solve the problem the children actually have.
If the government wanted to help these children they would putting solutions in place that worked rather than call truant.

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chantico · 07/10/2015 20:30

If it removes the threat of prison (for those who receive child benefit cash element), it's a good move.

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gamerchick · 07/10/2015 20:38

I don't think I could ever tire of punching that twat.

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megletthesecond · 07/10/2015 20:50

Horrendous idea. You don't know much about why kids don't go to school.

My mum worked with the school like nothing you've ever known, while working full time. Didn't stop me being bullied and it didn't make me go to school. I was already self harming and extra financial pressure would have made that worse.

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TooShyShyHushHush · 07/10/2015 21:32

What if the CB gets paid to the resident parent but the NRP is lax in taking the child to school on their contact days? I think this is a ridiculous idea.

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lljkk · 07/10/2015 21:40

Speaking as a parent of a habitual truant, this news story means nothing to me.

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