What happens if your child refuses to go to School in the UK?

As a parent you always want your child to get the best education. Thus you make their admission into the schools. But due to some reasons, they might be refusing to go to school. This may cause you to get into some legal action. Want to know what happens when your child refuses to go to school?

Quick Takeaways

• If your child refuses to go to the school you may have to face a variety of actions like a voluntary contract between the school and you. 
• You may also be imposed with different types of fines. 
• If your child is below 18, it is your duty to send them to school as it is compulsory for every student to have the right education.

However, you must read till the end to get a better understanding of what happens if your child refuses to go to school in the UK.

What happens if your child refuses to go to school in the UK?

If your child skips school, the government may take a variety of actions. A voluntary contract between you and the school and creating measures for support could be the beginning of this process. If a serious issue develops, it might escalate to court orders or fines. The absence of your child from school will hinder their ability to effectively study topic material.  Though there are two types of absences – authorized and unauthorized, you must try to take authorized absences and not unauthorized.

It could have an impact on their prospects. Additionally, skipping class can cause social isolation and prevent the development of essential functional skills. Understanding the reasons behind your child’s school refusal can help you to motivate them to go to school. It will also help you to create a balance between them and the school. You can also talk with the school in order to help your child. You could also call the police if your child is not willing to go to school. However, this must be the last option.

What are the official actions that can be taken against you?

Following are the actions that can be taken to help your child when they refuse to go to school. The main purpose of all these actions is to make you responsible for sending your child to school.

1. Providing support teams

There are many support teams that you may get for your children to help them go to kindergarten. They may help them to deal with various issues they are facing in school.

2. Need to sign up parenting contract

In a few cases, you may need to sign up for a parenting contract. Through this contract, you get practical help and support, so that you make them go to school. 

3. Penalty notice

This will be issued in your name when your child misses school more frequently. You will need to pay £60 as a fine within 28 days after it has been issued. However if you do not pay it by the due date, the amount will be doubled.

4. Education Supervision Order may be applied by the Local Authority 

In such a scenario they will get the power to decide which school their child will be going to and what they should do to motivate them. If this happens or you do not pay the fine there may be some strict actions that may be taken against you. 

5. The court can make several orders

One such order that it can take is the education supervision order which we have already discussed above. In addition to it, they can also give a parenting order. In this order, you will need to attend a parenting order which is for three months. 

6. School attendance order

This order will be imposed on you if you have not registered in the school yet. The main purpose of this order is to give you a particular name in which you will need to make your kid get enrolled.

What can I do if my child refuses to go to school?

You must follow the following things to help your child to go to school-

1. Find out the reason

There could be several reasons for your child not going to school. You must try to figure out what is their reason for not going. To solve any problem it is important to know the reason and thus will help you to work accordingly. If they are not comfortable going to school you can try to get them into digital learning.

2. Do not be harsh on them

After knowing the reason, try to show them the positive side of going to school. Obviously, it will not be easy and you will need a lot of patience. Do not be hard on them and try to convince them politely to go to school.

3. Contacting the school administration

Many times other children are bullying your child or maybe some teachers may not be treating all the children equally. In such a case you must get in contact with the school in order to make the necessary changes.

4. Counseling

If things have changed in the school and the still child is not ready to go to school, you can always try reaching out to the counselors. There are many counselors who are specialized in kids, and thus may help your child in such situations. You can also get 3k programs for your kids.

5. Show them what they are missing

Most of the students are competitive these days. Tell them if they are not going to school they miss the chance of becoming a school perfect – Head boy/girl.

Conclusion

As a parent, it is your duty to see if your child is attending school or not. It is important that your children should go to school after they have turned 5 till the last Friday of June in the year they are turning 16. If your child is not attending school you may be into some legalities. You may get some penalties or may face some legal orders that you will need to follow up on.