By Angela Kelly IT looks like the classic modern parental dilemma.

You can't get your teenage child to go to school and you end up in court, facing a hefty fine and public humiliation.

Certainly, the court case in the BEN yesterday about the Bolton widow whose truanting 15-year-old son landed her in just that situation is bound to strike a chord with many local parents.

She was fined £50 with £50 costs for failing to send her son to school regularly. She could have been fined up to £1,000.

So, just how do you "persuade" a lanky teenager determined not to attend school to do just that? And are YOU, the parent, in real danger of being in the dock if he or she just misses the odd day?

Long before the stage of court action is reached, there is a full-scale safety net in operation, explained Ian Price, Bolton's principal education social worker.

It is his department, at Paderborn House in the town centre, which is called in when cases escalate, but only eventually.

Back down the line, the first alert to a possible problem comes via a pupil's form tutor, who daily takes the class register of attending youngsters.

A persistent pattern of absences, or a sudden raft of them, will prompt attention from the school. They would then want to involve the parent or parents quickly, to try to resolve whatever is causing the problem.

Here, as all the way through, the school would be offering its support. Secondary schools have individuals, like the year head, whose job involves pastoral care of pupils. In primary schools, the head-teacher may take on this role.

Should the parent not respond to staff efforts - perhaps not even turning up at school to talk the matter through - or if their response proves ineffectual and the school is still very concerned, the system then moves up a gear.

The matter may then be referred to education social workers.

They, too, will contact the parent to try to resolve the matter by discussion, to identify what is making that youngster want to miss school.

"There are myriad complex reasons why a pupil misses school," said Mr Price. "And there is no quick fix, no magic dust to make it all right."

He and his colleagues know that hatred of a particular subject, or a particular teacher, bullying, or a dozen other reasons could be responsible. Teenage feelings, in particular, can be complex, and they are not always big on communication.

"It is about rows of square pegs in square holes, and how you make the round pegs fit," he added.

"This might be about changing their attitude, or changing their teacher. We are looking for co-operation, from the pupil and the parent, to find a way to fixing what is wrong," he added.

All this, however, requires co-operation on all sides and the will, from both pupil and parent, to change.

If it doesn't, the parent receives a warning notice that prosecution is the likely outcome. An office appointment is fixed for the parent and child to discuss this with a member of the education social work team.

"At this meeting, we would be talking about the reasons for truanting and we would be wanting an action plan to result," said Mr Price.

If they don't attend, or if nothing positive comes from this meeting, then the parent and child would be asked to meet members of the education and arts' committee.

This is a body of councillors and co-opted members from various areas of the community, currently headed by Cllr Donald Grime. Discussion is again the keynote here, with that hoped for co-operation in finding a solution the outcome.

If this, too, fails, and the committee decides to go ahead with prosecution, the matter will be put in the hands of the town's legal services.

They lay the information before the court with a view to a summons being issued.

Any court appearance would still be several weeks hence. "This gives another opportunity for the parent to pull back from the edge," said Mr Price.

If a satisfactory plan can be found before that date, an adjournment will be sought. "If they have reached the door of the court, as it were, the case can still either be withdrawn or they can be given a conditional discharge."

As Cllr Grime emphasises: "We do not want to fine parents, especially single parents. It hurts me a lot to take someone to court. We try to avoid it, but sometimes it is impossible.

"There is, however, a statutory duty to ensure that youngsters receive education to the age of 16. Some children are not happy at school, and this can be the result but, all the way along, we try to identify the problem, and find a solution."

There are around 35 to 40 court cases a year, from a school population of around 45,000. "The majority of truanting problems are resolved much earlier and, hopefully, long-term," added Mr Price.

Effective treatment at school level in Bolton now includes a pioneering electronic paging system. When a youngster misses school, the electronic register automatically pages parents.

This was started locally at Smithills and Withins schools and has now been extended to several other schools.

And there is flexibility in the later stages of secondary school for alternative education packages, with a more practical, job-orientated approach.

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