Should the government decriminalize school truancy?

There are various reasons as to why children truant from school; whether it is bullying, health issues, struggling with schoolwork, more help and resources should be provided to look into why children truant.

If the offence is committed, the student should be given the right to not attend, however, if the offence directly links to their grades being unsatisfying or under the average, the student should be forewarned about this, if the behaviour doesn't change, the student should be forced to re-do the year entirely

Yes, but there should be a support system established for parents who are struggling to get their child to engage in education, and for those who do not understand the importance of education.

I fail to see how imprisoning the parent of a persistently truanting child is likely to improve that child's life chances - this does not seem a matter worthy of imprisonment but more something that should be managed between social workers, schools, parents, and other professionals if required

Depending on the students grades. If an intelligent student who wouldn’t suffer from missing a few school days should be allowed. If however a student is not doing successful then stricter rules should apply to their attendance, however this would also include an inquiry as to why they are struggling with their education, such as undiagnosed learning difficulty conditions and behavioural issues. Having an awareness of obstacles that could impact a child’s learning.

Kind Of, If The Commited Truancy Due To Mental Health Reasons Or Physyical Reasons Then No But If They Did It Purposely Because They Wanted To Skip School Then Yes.

no, but parents of the children shouldn't be held fully accountable, and is there is a genuine reason for absence even without reporting it, this should be excused

yes, but allow "holidays" at appropriate times of the school year where there is no exams etc providing attendance is held to a minimum standard

No, but action should be taken to tackle the root causes of school truancy and occurrences should be taken on a case-by-case basis

Yes AND No. On the basis that if students are truanting, they should then be questioned whether or not it is based on mental health issues or lack of interest for being at school, on which they are then given the necessary help to allow them to enjoy their education and improve their wellbeing within an educational intuition.

Yes and add an alternative teaching method for at risk kids

However, there should be leeway for mental health issues

Yes, but only under certain circumstances

Find out why they are truants. They may have difficult home lives. Don't just brand them criminals. They may not care.

Education is important and the social environment they learn is something we should value highly. . However contemporary education has not just take a dive but has been turn into a machine promoting wrong values and concepts to young children. If the parents do not believe the education their children receving is no longer in line with what the parents believe is correct. They should have all the right to withdrawl their children from toxic environment and instead adopt a homeschool education.

No as cannot encourage people to be lazy as this will continue to working age. There will of course be exceptions to this which should be reviewed by an independent panel

Yes, cause there is always a reason to truancy and needs dealing with in appropriate manner and not always blaming parents

I think they need to ask the question. Why they don't want to be in school

No, they should not be criminalised because you don’t know the situation they are in

Is it criminalised?

Solely for non genuine reasons. Don not support laziness as this will likely become an issue in adulthood where they try to seek benefits on a system which is stretched and should be for those who need this

Yes, they should help the students and families and try to understand the reasons for truancy

Fine students who are truant from primary and secondary education and keep a register of truant students, who when working a full time job begin to pay off fines they would have acrued from being truant.

It depends on the factors

Yes, but only for students who usually have high levels of attendance

Schools often do not believe parents or children when pupils are ill with chronic illnesses or mental health issues, leading to unauthorised absences when there is a valid reason. On the other hand, children who are being neglected or abused are often not taken to school or forced to stay at home. As the NHS is so underfunded currently, teachers do not have the training to recognise mental health issues, I think it school truancy should not be criminalised.

Depends on mental health

Yes unless it’s a repeated issue

Only for people who are 16 and over

No but students should not be forced to go to school if it's distressing to them

For the most part, no but it depends on circumstances

Yes, however social service should be involved so that the parents would be more involved with the education and health of the child, as well as investigates in order to determine whether or not the behaviour is due to problems at home or not.

no but parents shouldn't be held responsible

Evaluate reasons for truancy to determine suitable outcome

Yes, as troubled and confused children possibly with an unstable background should be helped not penalised.

Needs to be a more nuanced position - academic qualifications are only one part of the story; kids might not fit in school environment

Yes, However councils to work alongside parents to have understanding of why the truancy occurred

Yes, it is far more valuable to understand and address the causes of truancy. This should be done compassionatly.

No, but relax laws on parents

Yes, Only if the child is still receiving a proper and adequate education elsewhere

Criminalization is harsh but children should be provided adequate education

Yes, parents are usually unaware that their child is playing truant. It's necessary to assess why this occurs and it's should be the responsibility of the education system to make school a safe, stimulating and interesting place to be.

Send them to prison if they miss one lesson

No, make it affect both parent and child

Partially to allow for small absences provided that all school work missed is covered during the absence

No, but make it affect both parent and child (if not already)

Yes, depending on the issue.

Yes, and they should develop more ways for support services to provide help for families and children who are not attending school.

Government is a spook