There is a significant rise in the local authority issuing Educational Penalty Notices to parents or taking them to Court because of unauthorised absence of children from school, according to the information obtained under Freedom of Information.
Harrow local authority issued 55 notices in 2013, 187 in 2014 but 281 in 2015 (up to 31 July). A Penalty Notice is an alternative to prosecution, which does not require an appearance in Court – nationally the penalty of £60 is imposed, if paid within 28 days of receipt of the notice, rising to £120 if paid after the 28 days.
In 2013, the local authority took eight parents to court, involving ten children (9 in secondary schools). The parents were found guilty and seven were issued with fine. In 2015 (up to 31st July), eight parental prosecutions involving eleven children (7 in secondary) were brought by the local authority – the parents were found guilty and six were fined.
Courts can issue maximum fines of £2,500 or jail sentences of up to three months.
No doubt good attendance helps pupils learning but we also support calls for more flexibility in the rules to allow heads to take account of family circumstances where absence was unavoidable. They “should be trusted to make decisions about a child’s absence from school”, asserts David Simmonds of the Local Government Association.
In Harrow, 82.1% of school children are from a black or minority ethnic group (Context of the Review of Health Services by CQC).
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers quite rightly said “extended absence must be tackled by schools with support and dialogue first“.
“Equally, though, government must do what it can to support families. Cutbacks to essential services can increase the barriers to attendance” he pointed out.
In Harrow, 21.2% of children aged under 16 years living in poverty (CQC Review).
We would like the Harrow local authority and MPs to address truancy by improving parents socio-economic conditions and helping the schools to become more enjoyable place – just forcing pupils to come to school does not necessarily make them good learners.

Update:
A follow up news article by a local newspaper!

Availing the golden opportunity to comment on the anti-social behaviours such as spitting, Conservative opposition leader Councillor Hall has referred to “our previous administration”.
Would be interesting to recall the nature and quality of that short-lived Tory ‘administration’ – a fluke!
Like misjudging her support at the council and bringing her budget to the council during her ‘administration’ and got it defeated, Cllr Hall failed to sense that Harrow residents have no desire for her elected-mayor style council administration.
Therefore, Cllr Hall could only lead her group to defeat in May 2014, despite top notch Tory party support, setting a pattern of defeats (Councils in 2010 & 2014 – five sitting Tory councillors were defeated – and 2 by-elections in 2013).
Another blow for Cllr Hall is the return of the popular council chief executive Michael Lockwood, forced out by the short-lived Cllr Hall administration, which is not only an embarrassment for Cllr Hall but also that she has to work with the same chief executive!
Councillor Hall did not only loss the ‘administration’ but also the grip on her group that is now rightly looking for a leadership change.

In November, Prime Minister David Cameron, a regular visitor to the Harrow marginal constituencies, said, “Changes to welfare – to cut EU migration – will be an absolute requirement in the negotiation that I’m going to undertake” – he meant the four-year residency test for migrants claiming certain benefits, such as tax credits, child benefit and housing benefits.
“Imposing additional requirements on EU workers that do not apply to a member state’s own workers constitutes direct discrimination which is prohibited under current EU law”, now warn the government lawyers.
Did PM consult government lawyers before making such a loose statement about the exclusive benefits criteria for some, seemingly to please voters in the constituencies like Harrow West where the Tory MP candidate eventually lost or whether he made a false pledge before the election knowing that he would not be able to fulfil it? In either case, this demonstrates irresponsibility.
In a face saving exercise and to patch-up the ‘discriminatory’ move, the government now plans to include British citizens in the qualifying criteria for the working tax credits and housing benefits as well, and as the test would apply from the age of 18, anyone aged under 22 who had lived here all their life would not be eligible for tax credits.
It looks that the PM will not be able to deliver on his promises as the four-year wait for migrants is unlikely to be agreed by all 28 EU nations.
However, the future of our youth remains bleak as the government plans to strip unemployed 18-21 year olds of housing benefits as well.

Thousands of youngsters who have fled unstable backgrounds and abuse could be forced into homelessness as the government plans to strip unemployed 18-21 year olds of housing benefits, warns the Youth charity YMCA in its recent research report ‘Uncertain Futures’.
The government announced the policy shift during Chancellor George Osborne’s emergency budget, as part of its strategy for tackling youth joblessness and dependency on welfare.
This government move that exposes youngsters to the risk of homelessness has implications for Harrow as the percentage of Care Leavers in Harrow is almost equal to the England average, for example.
For many 18-21 year olds, housing benefit is not a lifestyle choice. It is something that has come out of circumstances and events that have impacted on their lives and which have meant they have nowhere to go.
Hope Harrow corporate parents have protection plan for the Care Leavers, a vulnerable group of young adults who have particular needs in relation to housing.

Update: Corporate Director of Children and Families has responded but with no evidence that the arrangements and outcomes for CLA have improved!

The popularity of Jeremy Corbyn campaign for Labour leadership has reached Harrow, demonstrated by the Labour councillors supported canvassing activity at the Harrow Town Centre last Saturday (25 July)!
A campaigning socialist, the Islington North MP is leading the leadership poll which has troubled the New Labour gurus like Tony Blair and his followers like the Harrow West Labour MP who is now supporting Mr Corbyn’s rival Liz Kendall who is seen as a Blairite contender and has said Labour should not have voted for Britain to recognise the Palestinian state.
Many Harrow Labours have retained the socialist flavour which is missing from the Labour Party that has gradually lost its ideological position.
Mr Corbyn states that he stands for:

• An end to austerity now
• No trident nuclear weapons
• Freedom for Palestine
• Fighting injustice worldwide
• Standing up for equality, peace and solidarity

Anyone who supports these policies or believes in robust opposition to the government’s devastating socio-economic and welfare measures, can register (before 12 August) to vote for Jeremy as Labour leader – click here to register.
In a healthy democracy to improve the quality of life, the quality of both the government and opposition leaderships is very significant.

• • life expectancy is 6.8 years lower for men and 4.2 years lower for women in the most deprived areas of Harrow than in the least deprived areas
• • incidents of TB are much higher than the national
• • the infant mortality rate is worse
• •25.2% of the population is under the age of twenty with 82.1% of school children coming from a black or minority ethnic group
• • 21.2% of children aged under 16 years living in poverty
• •the last inspection of health services for Harrow’s children in May 2012 of safeguarding and looked after children’s services found that health’s contribution to safeguarding was adequate and the Being Healthy delivery for looked-after children was inadequate (failing categories)
• •May 2014 Review of Health Services for Children Looked After and Safeguarding in Harrow by Care Quality Commission found that the progress in delivering an improved service overall since the 2012 inspection is “disappointingly slow”

• by mapping the spread of the Japanese knotweed across the borough – community champions could be trained to identify and report the weed – knowing the full extent of the problem will help the council to control and manage the weed
• if on the private property, by informing the homeowner or landowner that the weed problem needs addressing
• by having staff trained to inject a specialist treatment into the stem of the weed to kill it

Update:
The council has valued our suggestions about how they can help in dealing with the weed problems – following are the extracts from the Biodiversity Officer’s response: