Justices had found as facts, on a prosecution for non attendance of their child, that the parents had not known about relevant absences until after the event, and that there had been no neglect on their part. The justices acquitted the parents but on an appeal by the prosecutor it was held that the offence is an absolute offence and it is unnecessary to show knowledge on the part of the parents of the child’s absence or any neglect on their part. Such matters merely go to mitigation. The Divisional Court remitted the case to the justices with a direction to convict. The Divisional Court expressed a degree of sympathy with the parents.
Lord Parker of Waddington CJ said: ‘The real and only question here is whether the 12 occasions out of a possible 114 when this little girl was not attending school and had no reasonable excuse for not attending, amount to a failure to attend regularly.’, but went on to hold that they did and that the magistrates must have been of the same opinion.
Judges:
Lord Parker of Waddington CJ, Cantley J
Citations:
(1969) 68 LGR 56
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Not followed – Isle of Wight Council v Platt SC 6-Apr-2017
Regular school attendance is following the rules
The respondent had taken his child out of school during term time to go on holiday. The child otherwise had an excellent attendance record. The Council having failed on appeal to the Administrative Court, it appealed saying that the word ‘regularly’ . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Education, Crime
Updated: 28 April 2022; Ref: scu.179638