‘Sleepy children’ blamed for school absence by parents

TWO mums blamed their sleepy children on being unable to get them to classes.

They each pleaded guilty to charges of failing to ensure their child attended regularly at school.

One parent from the Fartown area had allowed her teenage daughter to miss a huge amount of school.

Over a school year she attended just seven days of lessons and had not been back to school at all since early October last year, Kirklees Magistrates’ Court was told.

The girl’s mother explained that her daughter had sleeping problems and would sleep during the day.

She was fined £180 and ordered to pay £170 prosecution costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Another parent from Batley also admitted that her Year 8 daughter had a poor school attendance.

Magistrates were told that she refused to get out of bed on a morning and was rude to her mum.

They heard that she missed 41 days of education in the autumn term.

Her mother explained: “I’ve tried every morning to get her up but she’s not sleeping on a night.”

She was fined £40 and told to pay £170 in costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Both mothers were also handed a 12 month parenting order and told to participate in a three-month parenting skills course.