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Going to school…do I have to?School! You might love it, you might hate it…..you might not care either way! The point is that that we all have to go to it. You can look at it in two different ways. Children aged between five and eighteen have the right to attend school or you could say that children up to the age of sixteen must attend school. Although sometimes you may feel like school is the last place on earth that you want to spend time, think about all the children and young people in the world who aren't able to attend any type of schooling because of issues like poverty. So, you can feel annoyed or lucky….the choice is yours! |
For those of you who aren't touched by my charitable approach to appreciating
your school, think about it from a purely selfish point of view. If you have
read any of the articles on this section of the site, you will know that going
to school is very important. If you want lots of nice things out of life,
you need to pay for them. The better the qualifications, the better the job
and the better the salary. If you aren't at school, you aren't learning and
as we all know - There's no earning without learning!
It isn't just about the 'learning is the key to life' lecture! There are
practical reasons why staying at school is in your best interest. It is the
place where you said you would be! In other words, your parents know that
you are there and you have been put in the care of the school and its staff.
Now I am sure that many of you are thinking…I'm not a baby, I can look
after myself! Well, you might think that, but what if something happened to
you and you couldn't get hold of anyone to help you. How will your parents,
friends or teachers find you if they don't know where you are? Truancy stops
you from taking the normal precautions that you would usually take. If you
are going out with your mates, you might normally let your mum know where
you'll be and when you'll be back. If you are truant you can't exactly say
"Oh mum, I'm skiving off school today, but if you need me I'll be outside
the chippy with my mates".
Being truant can lead to your parents or guardians being fined…which
really isn't fine! You might have seen in the news, parents have even gone
to prison because of their children's truancy. To help reduce truancy the
police and local education authorities are doing 'truancy sweeps' in the main
areas where most young people go when they are absent from school. Hiding
away from them might seem clever but lonely places are dangerous and if the
police can't find you when you don't want them to, what happens when you need
them to?
The laws that are involved with truancy are the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Official figures show that a fair amount of crime is committed by 10-16 year olds who are not at school when they should be. Even if you don't usually get into trouble, if you start skipping school who are the people you'll end up hanging around with? What are they doing to occupy their time? Are you likely to get involved or become linked with them and their actions? Do you want to be known around school as the person caught for burglary, criminal damage or any other street crimes. Do you want to face the consequences of being caught for these or any type of crime?
If you are having problems at school or at home and you are thinking about being truant, you need to talk to someone. Sometimes bullying, difficult school work and problems with family and friends can make school feel like a uncomfortable place to be. You need to share your feelings with friends, family, teachers or your connexions adviser. If these people are too involved in the situation, remember Connexions Direct can give you lots of advice over the phone or the website! It can't get any better if nobody knows it's going on! Get some advice and get back to school. Don't let anyone take something this valuable and important away from you!
Before you get fluent in being truant…..
THINK very hard about what's on the cards!
Don't waste your chances! Stay in school and make the most of it!
BBC Leeds - Emma's video story on how she overcame being a truant
'Bunking off' - a Channel 4 website
Have no doubt...When you're out and about
Good luck
Jennie Glitherow
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