'I’m happy to go to court if I’ll get help’: Mother’s battle to send her ‘bigger, stronger’ son, 12, to school
A mother claims she has spent a
tiring three years struggling to make her 12-year-old son attend school
because he doesn't like homework and finds it 'boring'.
When her son Ajay was younger, Miranda Hammond used to pull him out of bed, dress him and push him through the school gates.
But as he is nearly a teen, Ms Hammond, 37, says he is 'much bigger and stronger' and 'built like a mini rugby player', making it physically impossible for her to force him to learn.
Ms Hammond, from Plymouth, Devon, said: 'I’m happy to go to court if that means I will get some help.'
She said she needs help to force her son to go to school and insists she will go to court if that is what it takes. She said: 'There has got to be 'some sort of change'.
She added: 'I’ve been trying my hardest, I used to pull him out of bed and get him dressed, push him in the car and through the school gates, but I can’t do that anymore.
A mother who refused to pay a fine for taking her son out of school in term time to attend her wedding in the Caribbean lost her court battle today.
Frances Harden (pictured), 31, fell foul of anti truancy laws after teenager Harrison Thorpe (left) was taken out of classes for 11 days so he could walk his mother down the aisle.
Mrs Harden had originally booked her £8,000 ceremony at a four star hotel in St Lucia in 2011 in the belief this year's event would be taking place during the Easter holidays.
But when she realised the Easter holidays for 2012 differed by up to two weeks, Mrs Harden repeatedly tried to email Harrison's headmistress Dr Rose Hegan at the 1,397 pupil Marple Hall School in Stockport, Greater Manchester to alert her.
She was eventually refused permission to take Harrison to the paradise ceremony - only a month before it was due to take place.
Mrs Harden pressed ahead and took Harrison anyway and was then issued with a £50 fixed penalty notice under anti truancy laws upon her return from the 14 day trip.
Her younger son Alex, six, was allowed out of classes by his primary school for the luxury ceremony.
Today at Stockport Magistrates' Court Mrs Harden pleaded guilty under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act after she refused to pay the fixed penalty.
'I’m 5ft 3in and he’s much bigger and stronger, he’s built like a mini rugby player.
'He also knows the law and says that if I touch him that it’s assault. I’m at my wits’ end.'
Ms Hammond was given an official warning last week and if her son's truancy is not curbed she has been told she could face the courts.
Ajay is in Year 8 at Ivybridge Community College but attends on average just one day a week. Ms Hammond said she called a meeting on Friday to discuss the issue further.
The meeting was held in Ms Hammond’s car because Ajay refused to get out and go into the school building.
Now Ajay needs to attend school every day for four weeks under the ‘fast track to attendance’ scheme.
Any unauthorised absence will result in a £60 penalty notice which Ms Hammond will have to pay.
Miss Hammond said: 'However Ajay did not go in to school on Monday or Tuesday.
'Why are they prosecuting me when it should be him?'
'If you’ve got a child that’s stronger and bigger than you then what more can I do?'
Miranda has three other children aged 20, 18, and seven, and she said all of them have regularly attended school with one currently at college.
She said: 'I’ve had enough and I’m absolutely sick of it. I’m going to write a letter to David Cameron.
'I don’t understand what the problem is, something needs to be done, there must be other parents in my position. There’s just got to be some sort of change.
'It’s not fair, we need to fight back for changes to get some help. Why should I be prosecuted when I haven’t done anything wrong?'
She said the problems started when she fell 30ft down a quarry while Ajay and her youngest son were there.
'I thought he may be worried about me but it’s been going on for years now.
'Then it was homework, then it was boring. He’s very headstrong and does what he wants.'
Miranda has tried to make Ajay’s life at home unappealing in a hope that will make him go in, but she says that’s not helping either.
'I’m
doing everything I possibly can, I take everything away to make it
boring for him and I don’t let him go to football training.
'Meetings are all well and good but where is the action? Police officers have come and he runs off, he hides in the woods, and then they go,' she said.
Plymouth City Council prosecuted 67 parents for their child’s irregular attendance during the last academic year.
Of the 67 council prosecutions this year, 24 were as a result of parents not paying the penalty notice.
Devon County Council issued 203 penalty notices during the last academic year, with 143 prosecutions.
Asked about Ms Hammond’s case, a spokesman for Devon County Council said: 'Parents have the ultimate responsibility to ensure their child attends school.
'Education welfare officers will work with schools and colleges to try and help with specific issues resulting in why students are not attending.'
A spokeswoman for Ivybridge Community College said: 'We monitor attendance on a daily basis to promote the good habit of punctuality and good attendance.
'We have a robust system to track and support any students who may be absent. This begins with parents contacting the college if their child is absent and is further supported by an automated service to our parents.'
When her son Ajay was younger, Miranda Hammond used to pull him out of bed, dress him and push him through the school gates.
But as he is nearly a teen, Ms Hammond, 37, says he is 'much bigger and stronger' and 'built like a mini rugby player', making it physically impossible for her to force him to learn.
Miranda Hammond, left, has battled for three years to get her son Ajay, 12, right, to attend school but he refuses
She now faces hefty fines and being
hauled before a court because of her son's truancy. And surprisingly,
the mother-of-four says she would welcome the decision.Ms Hammond, from Plymouth, Devon, said: 'I’m happy to go to court if that means I will get some help.'
She said she needs help to force her son to go to school and insists she will go to court if that is what it takes. She said: 'There has got to be 'some sort of change'.
She added: 'I’ve been trying my hardest, I used to pull him out of bed and get him dressed, push him in the car and through the school gates, but I can’t do that anymore.
Mischievous: Despite Ajay's mother, right, facing hefty fines and court action, he still won't go to school
Ivybridge Community College, Devon, which Ajay attends just once a week
MOTHER WHO TOOK SON, 13, OUT OF SCHOOL LOSES COURT BATTLE
A mother who refused to pay a fine for taking her son out of school in term time to attend her wedding in the Caribbean lost her court battle today.
Frances Harden (pictured), 31, fell foul of anti truancy laws after teenager Harrison Thorpe (left) was taken out of classes for 11 days so he could walk his mother down the aisle.
Mrs Harden had originally booked her £8,000 ceremony at a four star hotel in St Lucia in 2011 in the belief this year's event would be taking place during the Easter holidays.
But when she realised the Easter holidays for 2012 differed by up to two weeks, Mrs Harden repeatedly tried to email Harrison's headmistress Dr Rose Hegan at the 1,397 pupil Marple Hall School in Stockport, Greater Manchester to alert her.
She was eventually refused permission to take Harrison to the paradise ceremony - only a month before it was due to take place.
Mrs Harden pressed ahead and took Harrison anyway and was then issued with a £50 fixed penalty notice under anti truancy laws upon her return from the 14 day trip.
Her younger son Alex, six, was allowed out of classes by his primary school for the luxury ceremony.
Today at Stockport Magistrates' Court Mrs Harden pleaded guilty under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act after she refused to pay the fixed penalty.
'He also knows the law and says that if I touch him that it’s assault. I’m at my wits’ end.'
Ms Hammond was given an official warning last week and if her son's truancy is not curbed she has been told she could face the courts.
Ajay is in Year 8 at Ivybridge Community College but attends on average just one day a week. Ms Hammond said she called a meeting on Friday to discuss the issue further.
The meeting was held in Ms Hammond’s car because Ajay refused to get out and go into the school building.
Now Ajay needs to attend school every day for four weeks under the ‘fast track to attendance’ scheme.
Any unauthorised absence will result in a £60 penalty notice which Ms Hammond will have to pay.
Miss Hammond said: 'However Ajay did not go in to school on Monday or Tuesday.
'Why are they prosecuting me when it should be him?'
'If you’ve got a child that’s stronger and bigger than you then what more can I do?'
Miranda has three other children aged 20, 18, and seven, and she said all of them have regularly attended school with one currently at college.
She said: 'I’ve had enough and I’m absolutely sick of it. I’m going to write a letter to David Cameron.
'I don’t understand what the problem is, something needs to be done, there must be other parents in my position. There’s just got to be some sort of change.
'It’s not fair, we need to fight back for changes to get some help. Why should I be prosecuted when I haven’t done anything wrong?'
She said the problems started when she fell 30ft down a quarry while Ajay and her youngest son were there.
'I thought he may be worried about me but it’s been going on for years now.
'Then it was homework, then it was boring. He’s very headstrong and does what he wants.'
Miranda has tried to make Ajay’s life at home unappealing in a hope that will make him go in, but she says that’s not helping either.
'Meetings are all well and good but where is the action? Police officers have come and he runs off, he hides in the woods, and then they go,' she said.
He still finds it funny: Ms Hammond held a
meeting with school officials in her car because her stubborn son won't
go near the building
Of the 67 council prosecutions this year, 24 were as a result of parents not paying the penalty notice.
Devon County Council issued 203 penalty notices during the last academic year, with 143 prosecutions.
Asked about Ms Hammond’s case, a spokesman for Devon County Council said: 'Parents have the ultimate responsibility to ensure their child attends school.
'Education welfare officers will work with schools and colleges to try and help with specific issues resulting in why students are not attending.'
A spokeswoman for Ivybridge Community College said: 'We monitor attendance on a daily basis to promote the good habit of punctuality and good attendance.
'We have a robust system to track and support any students who may be absent. This begins with parents contacting the college if their child is absent and is further supported by an automated service to our parents.'
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