February 10 2010

An Ashburton mother has until April to show that she can get her truant son to school. 

The woman appeared in the Ashburton District Court on Monday charged under the Education Act, with failing to ensure her college-aged son went to school.

He missed 25 of 65 days between May 1 and August 17 last year and only five of those days were justified.

The woman, who pleaded not guilty and defended herself, was granted name suppression by Judge Jane McMeeken so as not to identify her son.

Ashburton police senior constable Rob Hooper, also Ashburton’s youth aid officer and chairman of the Rock On truancy programme, said the boy was referred to Rock On while at Ashburton Intermediate, due to chronic truancy concerns.

Mr Hooper made visits to the family home to see if help was needed getting him to school.

On one occasion he found the boy hiding in a wardrobe. He made him put his uniform on and took him to school.

“He wasn’t angry. He didn’t want to go to school, he told me that but it didn’t take much persuading,” Mr Hooper said.

Another day, Mr Hooper saw the boy and another truant on bikes during school time. The boy advised Mr Hooper he had bronchitis.

At 2.45pm another day, the boy and two other youths were found by police sitting outside Ashburton Borough School. He told police he was sick.

“So he was well enough to bike around the streets but he was not well enough to go to school?” Judge McMeeken questioned his mother.

Mr Hooper told the court the mother turned down offers of resources open to her from the school, including the services of a tracker, a teacher aide, or home visits.

“Because I know my son and I know what works for him,” she said.

She initiated a meeting with college on January 31 to pre-empt any issues.

She said he had special learning difficulties and, in May, friendship problems resulted in the boy having a meltdown.

Over 14 weeks, he was away nine Mondays.

When he had meltdowns, she had to build him up again.

“There was not one time I did not inform the school when (he) was not attending,” the mother said.

Judge McMeeken said just because a parent phoned a school to say their child would not be there, it did not mean the absence was justified.

The mother said she did not realise she required medical certificates for the absences until June and when the school offered to meet the cost, she accepted.

Judge McMeeken said she understood learning issues had an impact on the boy’s schooling, but she did not accept his mother had given justifiable explanations for his absences.

A truancy letter was sent, and she was spoken to about his truancy, during May.

She said the police had proven their case, but she did not enter a conviction for the woman.

Instead, she adjourned the case and gave her until April 12 to prove she could get her son to go to school.

“The charge was laid so that (he) can have the best educational opportunities he is entitled to. He should never again have the absences he has been having,” Judge McMeeken said.

A second Ashburton mother is also currently going through the court system on a truancy charge.