Three parents fined as Thomas Clarkson Academy cracks down on persistent absenteeism

Thomas Clarkson Academy has launched a crackdown on students who persistently don’t turn up for lessons.

In the past few weeks, parents of three students have been fined, the parent of one student has been given a 12 month parenting order and the parent of one student has been made subject of a six-week monitoring period and asked to provide medical evidence.

A parent of a Year 9 student pleaded guilty and received a £270 fine, a parent of a Year 11 student pleaded guilty and received a £160 fine, plus a 12 month conditional discharge, and a parent of a Year 9 student was given a £205 fine after pleading guilty.

There are several further cases listed for court proceedings in the forthcoming months.

Attendance at the academy is 93.6 per cent, up from 91 per cent two years ago.

Principal Clare Claxton said: “We work very hard with parents to ensure that their children make the most of their education and attend school regularly.

“In a minority of cases we have to take tough action and support court proceedings. This can often be costly however it underlines the extreme importance of parents ensuring their children attend school.”

The Brooke Weston Trust’s education welfare officer Martine Boyd said: “Thomas Clarkson Academy have been working to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence.

“This has been a whole school effort and early intervention strategies have been offered to the families where non-attendance has continued.

“When these strategies have been unsuccessful, local authority referral has been submitted to the Cambridgeshire County Council local authority for consideration of legal action.”