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Mother back in prison for truancy

25 replies

hmb · 23/03/2004 17:23

The mother of the two girls who was sent to prison for allowing her 2 girls to truant has now been sent back to prison.

Your views ladies?

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hercules · 23/03/2004 17:39

Need more information hmb ie was the mother a waste of space or unable to cope?
I prefer it when some kids truant though I have to say. Makes the day much nicer.

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twiglett · 23/03/2004 17:43

message withdrawn

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spacemonkey · 23/03/2004 17:44

I don't know any details, but can't imagine how anyone can think it helpful to imprison the mother! Ridiculous!

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hercules · 23/03/2004 17:47

Perhaps they could use the money it costs to send and keep the mother in prison on helping the school and the kids. Actually dealing with the problem properly. Or is that too sensible?

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hercules · 23/03/2004 17:48

My understanding is that the parent only goes to court/prison if they arent bothered whether their child goes to school or not.

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twiglett · 23/03/2004 17:50

message withdrawn

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spacemonkey · 23/03/2004 17:51

Is the mother's name Patricia Amos? Am trying to find a link ...

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spacemonkey · 23/03/2004 17:54

I really think that's atrocious. I cannot see any merit at all in imprisoning this woman! As hercules says, the money wasted on court action and imprisonment would be far better used to help the family. Grrr.

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hmb · 23/03/2004 17:54

I heared about it on the news, the girls attendance rose significanly when their mother was last in prison. It was said that this allowed the older girl to significantly improve her results and go to collage.

She was offered a lot of help, or so they said on the report.

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Hulababy · 23/03/2004 18:10

LOL hercules Your first post, last line rings so many bells with me!

Not sure what the answer is in this case. Prison obviously didn't work long term last time. Maybe she should have to attend schoool with her daughters every day, in a special 'unit' until they are up to date? Mind you, she may then truant as well.

Anyone have any ideas of the solution for this?

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coppertop · 23/03/2004 19:02

I'm probably being a bit too cynical but I can't help wondering what they class as a high level of support?

It sounds as though the last prison sentence was more of a kick up the backside for the elder daughter than it was for the mother. I suppose we can only hope that this second sentence will be a kick up the backside for the younger daughter too. It's very sad.

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Tinker · 23/03/2004 19:16

The prosecution has to demonstrate collusion between the mother and child apparently - this mother was at home with the child despite claiming she didn't know about the truancy. The children will to be looked after by Social Services? The mother clearly needs help but what you do when it's not accepted I'm not sure. Don't see how prison helps anyone though

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MeanBean · 24/03/2004 10:08

Seems a very expensive way to deal with it. Wonder how much it is all costing?

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hmb · 24/03/2004 10:16

I agree that this does seem to be an extrem way for 'dealing' with the situation. And since the woman has alread been sent to prison once, it is obviously not that effective (but school attendance levels did rise significanly after the first case).

But you have to wonder what society can do in these cases. The mother had, I think attended parenting classes. Educational welfare officers tend to work very hard to sort out problems, get new schools, collages involved etc. We don't know what level of support this woman was offered, but I suppose you also have to question how much good 'support' would do, if the woman simply doesn't see the need for her children to be educated.....and I don't think that she is home edding them.

So what is left? Care orders? I think that most people would find that just as distasteful.

This is a difficult problem. I see a direct correlation between school attendence and success ( in all it's forms) in the classes I teach.

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aloha · 24/03/2004 10:27

I have read quite a bit about this and she does seem to have been offered a lot of support, parenting courses etc etc She said, if I remember rightly, that she liked having them at home, yet they really were being primed for a life with no options at all. It is a form of child abuse I think to deprive a child of any kind of education. Prison does seem extreme, but I think they'd run out of options

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Twinkie · 24/03/2004 10:41

One of the girls did not go to shcool - I think it was the last one she was prosecuted for - because she was scared of going and coming home to find her mother OD'd - she was a heroin addict apparently - their lives are just one long sad story!!

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aloha · 24/03/2004 10:57

I remember that Twinkie. Grim, wasn't it. What DO you do?

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hmb · 24/03/2004 11:10

I posted this thread as I am at a loss to know what could be done in this case.

It would seem to be obvious that sending the woman to prison has not helped in this case. The girl obviously loves her mother, so care would be an awful thing. But denying the child a chance of an education and a future is child abuse.

If the funding were these then home tuition would be an answer. But if that happened how would other parents feel who's children do go to school, even if it doesn't meet their needs (I'm thinking of some SN children)?

Awful situation. You can see the children ending up in a similar situation a few years down the line. How to break the cycle?

Mum to come into school as well possibly?

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Twinkie · 24/03/2004 11:54

Have decided that you set up a state boarding school where all persistent truants should go - saves money in putting their parents in prison/dragging them through the courts etc and targets what needs to be the issue their childrens education!!

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frogs · 24/03/2004 12:01

Surely the money spent on the court case and keeping the mother in prison could have been better spent paying a social worker/eduational welfare officer to go to the girl's home every morning and escort her to school.

Am I alone in seeing this as an obvious solution?

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hmb · 24/03/2004 12:23

That is sane, and rational, and makes 100% sense, so natch it can't happen! Different budgets.

It is a mad world out there!

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Agy · 24/03/2004 13:33

The older daughter (the one in her twenties) was on radio this morning and she was saying that no-one had given any real thought to helping the l4 year old with her school problems. Said she was still getting grief from other kids over the first prison sentence. Someone should be working more with the child. The mother obviously cannot cope. You shouldn't put people in prison for that! I agree with frogs - an escort to and from school would be a good start and then more help while there.

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Hulababy · 24/03/2004 17:39

Good idea frogs and would be a pleasing start. I guess then there is the issue of how to keep her ins chool all day though? At our school we have more trouble with truancy from lessons rather than school itself.

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tigermoth · 25/03/2004 07:55

I'm at a loss with this. If a social services escort is too radical an idea for the system to take, why not temporary foster care for these girls? That's working withing the system.

Extreme, but if their mother is putting pressure on them not to go to school (implicit threat of overdosing) then their home life is not giving them a proper chance of a future. Yes, the family is still being split up, but would be also if the mother is sent to prison.

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hmb · 25/03/2004 08:20

I have found it interesting that large numbers of kids get a lot of time off school. In some cases this is for real cases of illness. In lots of others the children stay home if they have a very mild cold. Some families just don't seem to put much value on school education. In fact we have a number of families who are well known to feel this way.

this is an extreme case, but there are lots that are like it. When you put this together with the peer pressure not to be seen as a swot, is it any wonder that large numbers of children underperform?