Yet more financial pressure on families that can ill afford it!

Apparently schools can now fine parents £60 for their kids arriving late for school. It seems the kids need only be late 10 times a year to trigger the fine.

Bl....y disgraceful I think and yet another money making venture, probably initiated by our wonderful government, I wonder where the money goes?

What about the kids who act as carers for their parents, or have difficulty getting up because they spend too much time playing electronic games as most kids do nowadays, the fault of society rather than the parents maybe?

Maybe they have transport problems, the family car isn't particularly reliable and the parents can't afford anything better due to the financial burdens existing already, maybe the kids are being bullied and effectively resist turning up on time, the bus turns up late, the weather takes a turn for the worse and so the list goes on.

It seems to me that if the kids turn up late for school on a regular basis, maybe a polite letter home would be sufficient to alert parents to a problem that until then has probably gone unnoticed, because the kids are not getting the support that they need at home. Maybe the parents need help and hitting them with a fine will only add to their problems and possibly the relationship between parents and the kids anyhow.

Regular lateness is probably a warning that something is wrong and fining the parents is not the answer. It's another stupid idea and one that hasn't been sufficiently thought through I reckon. In reality the parents are already hit for supplying pencils, pens, paper, rubbers with support at school fetes, parents evenings and so on which I suspect will soon stop.

All I can say is it's a good job our kids aren't at school these days because I would be kicking up so much s@@# that they would be selling it to the local farmers!

What say you members?

I think the lateness criterion in this case is more than 8 lates out of 10 possible registrations, not per year. The school in question is 'under special measures' and the head is trying to raise the standards, caused in part by poor attendance. Unfortunately, persistent lateness is often due to lack of parental support, and this measure seems to be a 'last resort' to get the parent's attention.

The principle is not new: there has always been a provision in Law to punish parents who do not ensure that their children attend school. 

Having attended many Parent's Evenings in the past, I was told by the teachers that the parents of the 'problem kids' never turn up at Parent's Evenings. Possibly a financial penalty is the only way to get their attention, but in any case I think it would be difficult to enforce without a Court appearance, which in itself would be costly.

I was never late for school even though I didn't particulary like it and have always been early for work. Like John I once walked 4 miles to the office because of heavy overnight snow. Another guy who lived near me arrived about an hour late and said well I'd better get in cos I knew you would be in.... and that was over 30 years ago. And more recently 2010 when we had the prolonged ice and snow i was always in around 7 whereas another guy who lives less than a mile away stroll in around 1000. As above it is either in you or it isn't. Also cannot remember the last time I had a day off sick, somwhere back in the eary 90's I think

Some of these kids are late because they are "raising" themselves, which means when they are elementary school kids they aren't getting up on time, ususally can't find the clothes they were going to wear, and take off having had nothing  to eat... or to go to the bathroom, because everything is on the rush at the last minute. Why...because they don't have parents there to help them. You can usually tell an kid that's taking care of themselves, they don't wear socks, the hair is never combed, most the time the parents shave it nearly off completely...most the time they wear cut off pants and are doing good to have an jacket with them or wearing one in the dead of winter. Has little to do with electronics.

But the day I went out there to see the grandson's off to school on time, one of them went to feed an "pet" crab, that latched on his finger...so there he is running through the house...screaming bloody murder..while I'm trying to catch him... the other grandson is yelling..put your finger under hot water, he'll drop off on his own...which we managed to do just barely in the nick of time to head them out the door, him with big allgator tears...me calling his teacher asking her to get him an bandaide at school for his finger.  I went back that night to hug him and see if he was "OK"...but thank God the other grandson was there with the advice or I probably would of killed the law coming the other way.. for the kids. I wen t in the next day and had the emergency surgery to find out that I was nearly 90 per cent dead then...as my  heart artery was closing shut on me.

"Life" happens...we need to understand that.  I just refused to read Mark's post over in earthboppin...two guys kidnapped an girl, raped her and then killed her, partly clothes.. and put an bloody satanic cross on her body hanging upside down..they say it was an  "cult" ritual killing.  She knew of them..... from an a;ternative school they went to.  I agree.... they deserve pure hell...and need locked up forever. ....Sad..Sad..Sad. Sounds like they were hispanics. Where were thier mothers at that morning?

I felt that way when I saw it in earthboppin also..it was on the news last night...I think they want to get it through people's heads to be WITH their kids these days maybe...and know who they are with and where they are at all times. We are discussing this over here most horrorfied something of this nature could happen..... At least they got caught. I am not at the moment enjoying what I've found out in British history also, though I know most historians simply write what others submit at times and there's an period right now of much change going on in history...yep...I watched tonight where it wasn't just Paul Revere's midnight ride...he never made it completely..it was an Samuel Prescott that made it to the end to warn Lexington that the British were coming..Paul Revere failed in his warning himself. . Maybe its' the truth, maybe not..but it goes to show you , we never apparently learned the truth as kids in school? Why should we believe anything they say now?