Boy has only attended class for nine days of current primary school year, court told

A woman whose son has attended primary school on only nine days in the current school year said she thought it was ridiculous that a child of his age be expected to go to bed before midnight, a court has heard.

Tusla is prosecuting the boy’s parents in the District Court over their failure to abide by their legal requirement to have him attend school under the Education Welfare Act 2000 on March 20th last and subsequent days.

The matter came before Judge Alec Gabbett, who said the boy must go to school and warned the parents they faced having criminal records if their son does not start attending. Judge Gabbett noted that the boy “really hasn’t been to school since he was in third class”.

A doctor’s report handed into court stated that the boy vomits at the school gate when he does try to attend. Sarah Ryan, solicitor for Tusla, said the agency has received no reports of this and the doctor’s report was based on what the boy’s mother had said.

Ms Ryan said matters have not improved since court proceedings were issued against the parents and “the situation is now at a critical stage given the boy’s age”.

In the current year, Ms Ryan said, the boy has had an 89.8 per cent rate of absenteeism. This compared with rates of 59 per cent and 36 per cent in the previous two school years.

Liam Rodger, educational welfare officer with Tusla, said the boy had been to school only once since Christmas and the last time he had attended before that was in October.

After reading a report handed into court by Ms Ryan on the scale of non-school attendance, Judge Gabbett said: “It is the usual problem with Camhs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), you have to be at death’s door to be admitted.”

Mr Rodger said a teacher reported that the boy was presenting as exhausted when he did show up and it was suggested that the mother look at establishing a routine for the boy, who was aged 11 at the time.

He said he received a text from the mother after the meeting, which was meant for someone else and stated that she “thought it ridiculous that a child of his age was expected to go to bed any time before midnight”.

Judge Gabbett asked the parents – who are separated and both go out to work during the day – where the boy was and whether he is left on his own “unsupervised with an iPad and a phone?”. In reply, solicitor Ann Gillane said the boy is at home and a neighbour looks in on him to make sure everything is okay.

Ms Gillane said the boy’s mother has “begged and pleaded with him to go to school and she tells me he just goes blank”.

Judge Gabbett said he would sit on the case “like a hen” and adjourned the matter to next month.