missing school

pelisor2000

Hi all. i notice my neighbour is not takeing his 6-7 year old boy to school anymore,maybe 6 months now, asame class with mine one.
And i fill like i have to report him to somebody,is not the boy fault because his dad is lazy(both parents home all day).
Do i have to do something? Report or ignore ? thanks

E.T.

The school will have reported him to the National Education Welfare Board after 20 days. The NEWB probably won't do anything unless he misses at least 70 days - we've reported kids for missing 60, without any follow up.

If you're concerned, you can make an anonymous call to social services yourself.

Orion

You should definitely report it. As ET said you can do it anonymously to avoid unpleasantness. School at that age is so important - fair play to you for caring enough to notice and want to do something about it.

Ayla

Before you report it, I'd suggest talking casually to the family. Maybe as you pass them on the street. Mention you've noticed the boy's not in class & see if there's anything you can do...you don't *know* the reason why he's not there. You're assuming it's b/c the parents are lazy...maybe there's something else at work that you wouldn't know about (maybe someone's ill, maybe they don't send him to school b/c they can't afford all those bloody "voluntary contributions...who knows?) Maybe it is just that they're lazy, but maybe not, and wouldn't you feel like a right tool for reporting someone going through a bad spot?

I think so many people are quick to report without knowing any of the facts. Try reaching out a helping, neighborly hand before you go ripping the rug out from under them.

E.T.

"voluntary contributions" are NOT an excuse for not sending a child to school! They're not even asked for in a lot of schools - we don't ask for any.

If a child is missing school for 6 months, then obviously the parents are not dealing well with whatever their situation is, full stop.

Ayla

I agree that -whatever the reason - the child should be receiving an education. My point was only that the OP had no idea why the child wasn't in class and that a more sensitive approach may be in order.

Hypothetically, what if the child was being homeschooled? Or what if one of the parents (or the child) is suffering some horrible illness that they've managed to keep quiet. Wouldn't you feel a complete moron for reporting them without so much as a courtesy conversation first?

If the OP cares enough to notice (which is definitely a good thing) then surely he/she should care enough to start a conversation with the family. Then, if it arises that this simply is a case of parental laziness, then by all means report their sorry arses for negligence.

E.T.

Unfortunately, with a lot of the families that social services do end up dealing with on a case level, they're not the type of people that neighbours feel comfortable approaching. I'm assuming that the OP posting on a public forum means they're in this position (yes it's hypothetical, but a lot more common than homeschooling/illness unfortunately). Approaching them would also leave the OP pretty much open to the family knowing full well who has reported them.

littlemis

This is just my opinion and is by no means ment as a personal attack...
No you do not have to report it.
No you do not have to asume his father is lazy,just because the two of them are at home all day.
Maybe there is a genuine reason behind it all as Ayla said.
Maybe the people in the know,who should know,do know.
Maybe if you want to be more informed,you should maybe lets say quiz the boy's friends,or send your boy round to see if he can come out to play,as they may well play together at school if they are friends or in the same class..You could then ask your boy to find out.With that information you would then know what best to do.Personally if I was that bothered I would ask out straight,and yes say I was nosy and that we, my child and i were wondering was everything alright heathwise,before blaming his absense from public school,on parental laziness....
I would imagine if the school in question is concerned they will have notified the NEWB.

Ayla

littlemis wrote: »

Maybe the people in the know,who should know,do know.
Maybe if you want to be more informed,you should maybe lets say quiz the boy's friends,or send your boy round to see if he can come out to play,as they may well play together at school if they are friends or in the same class..You could then ask your boy to find out.With that information you would then know what best to do.Personally if I was that bothered I would ask out straight,and yes say I was nosy and that we, my child and i were wondering was everything alright heathwise,before blaming his absense from public school,on parental laziness....
I would imagine if the school in question is concerned they will have notified the NEWB.

Gotta agree here. There are several ways to skin a cat, and if you're concerned (and rightly so) it's only fair you try all of them. And if the child attended school at all this year (or indeed in years past) then they'll have record of his absence. 6 months = 26 weeks = approx 150 school days. That's plenty of time for the NEWB to catch up if there's a case to chase.

Spidermany

Make a report to social services.

Regardless of the reason the boy is at home it's not good enough. Any parent with illness can arrange with a neighbour or relative to drop the child to school/ drop them home.

Every child has the right to an education and unless he's the one with the illness he should be in school.

Apart from anything else kids need the structure of routine and school will provide that structure.

Ayla

Spidermany wrote: »

Make a report to social services...Every child has the right to an education and unless he's the one with the illness he should be in school.

And my point is that how does the OP know the kid isn't the one with the illness?

Of course I know there are negligent parents out there - I'm not being overly simplistic here. And I know sometimes kids do fall through the "system." But what's the OP supposed to say when he calls the authorities?...the kid's not in class (but the OP doesn't know where the kid is). The OP has no proof of what's going on, so without a bit more info I think it's almost presumptive & unfair to assume there's negligence.

As said before, if the kid's really been absent for 6 months, then the NEWB/DES/social services would be involved in some form by now. And if they are, they wouldn't be able to tell the OP b/c of confidentiality. So the OP could call regardless just so their conscience feels better, but I really don't think that's fair without a bit more info of what's actually happening here.

up for anything

Maybe they have decided to home educate him.

pelisor2000

Hi all..
I don't have a problem with them being home
The family lives across the street from me
The 6-7 year boy it (was) in the same class with my son.
They are very healthy.The teacher told me they would move to Navan but that was months ago.As the teacher knows i'm not gonna care anymore.

E.T.

Have to say as a teacher there's very little we can do about kids missing school. 20 days missing means the school must automatically report to the National Education Welfare Board. They're completely short-staffed, as I said above, we've reported kids missing 60+ days with no follow-up. We've dealt with social workers before who refused to take our complaints seriously. If complaints come in from neighbours too it makes the situation more likely to be taken seriously.

ToonyLoon

There's no harm in making an anonymous phone call. Social services will only pursue the matter if there is no genuine reason for the absenses. If the family can explain why it happens the matter will be dropped.

I disagree with posters who say that you should talk to the family beforehand as you have to live beside them and if you then report to social services there may be bitterness.

Fair play to you for caring enough to notice and if you don't want to report it don't worry because the absenses will be recorded and dealt with by the school anyway.

DGOBS

You know what springs to mind......
Remember that case a year or so back in the states, where the guy and his wife had that abducted girl housed in tents in his back yard for like 20 years!

Bet they wished they had reported anything unusual now!

If there is an issue, the services getting involved are only going to try HELP

mat cauthon

You could - seeing as the school knows - try minding your own business. The child is not being physically abused - you say he is healthy, and both parents are home, and clearly your only concern is that he is not at school.
There could be a million reasons for it.
Leave it to those whose business it is to watch out for these things.

DGOBS

Lots af assumptions there!

No wonder there is no community anymore, let's all just let each to their own and not give them a moments