UK - Mother faces jail for son missing school when his father died

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los2188

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Tracey Fidler
When Kris Jarvis was killed by a drink driver, his son Adam was left shattered.

He didn’t want to go to school, and hated leaving his mum’s side.

But now mum Tracey Fidler could be sent to prison because of his poor school attendance record, after the reason for his absences were deemed unacceptable.
Kris was 39 when he died last February, after being hit by drunk driver Alexander Walter at 70mph.
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Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/27/mothe...l-when-his-father-died-5409963/#ixzz3mxPFyakK
 
Tracey won't be going to prison.

It doesn't seem to mention how old Adam is, perhaps the school could let him repeat the year. I work in a school occasionally (with "developmentally behind" kids - this includes ones who have missed a lot of school through illness) and 45% attendance would undoubtedly leave them behind their peers. Hopefully Adam will be able to catch up, with extra help.

But tragic and upsetting as this is, it's time for mum to enforce the lesson that, sadly, life eventually has to go on. Otherwise this kid's going to really struggle both academically and in outlook.

RIP to the dad, how awful he was taken by the selfish actions of another.
 
My daughter was a victim of the same thing. She and her husband separated and she moved to another close-by state with their two children. Approximately two months later, her ex-husband was found dead from some sort of a legal drug interaction. My daughter and the children spent a lot of time in the neighboring state clearing out the house, meeting with family members and taking care of funeral arrangements/everything associated with the unexpected death of a young man/father. The next time or two one of the children were absent due to illness, she was threatened with jail. Good Lord, can't anyone/school administration in particular, understand how traumatic this was for my grandchildren? They moved out of their home without their father, then their father died/gone/never see him again. Of course they were sick, sad, confused and horrified - then their mother is threatened with jail. Is there no compassion/common sense left in this world?
 
I wonder if maybe she's the one having trouble letting him go.
 
KaaBoom said:
Something is seriously wrong here. This apparently happened in February of last year. 20 months and the kid is still only attending school 45% of the time. That is a very traumatic event for any kid to go through, but the mother has got to get him some counseling and get his attendance up, and get his life back on track. No matter how hard it is.
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The impression I get is that he had low attendance when it first happened. But the article in the OP says that he's going to school normally now.

Adam had a 45 per cent attendance record at his primary school. Adam is now at secondary school and his attendance is now back up to normal, Ms Fidler says.
Click to expand...

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/27/mothe...l-when-his-father-died-5409963/#ixzz3n369vuD4
 
Donjeta said:
The impression I get is that he had low attendance when it first happened. But the article in the OP says that he's going to school normally now.



Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/27/mothe...l-when-his-father-died-5409963/#ixzz3n369vuD4
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Well, thats what the mother says, but apparently the school/government officials don't agree. I have a hard time believing that they would be looking at putting her in jail, if there is no current problem with her son's attendance. If her son's attendance has actually improved, then I would expect that the charges against her would be dropped.
 
Yeah IDK it depends on whether they treat it merely as a sanction to correct ongoing problems or as punishment for past school attendance related offenses. There's still time for them to come to another agreement, the school officials seemed to imply it was a possibility.
 
He's 11. He will have started secondary school a few weeks ago, so 100% attendance doesn't mean a lot yet, and this case must relate purely to his non-attendance at primary. Hopefully the new start at secondary will help him.

Reading Borough Council seem to want to back down on this:

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/re...racey-fidler-reading-borough-council-10150368

It was a very tragic incident - five children were left fatherless as a result. The driver was sentenced to 10 years in prison:

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/justice-kris-john-petition-reaches-8867688
 
Another update:

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/re...tracey-fidler-angry-grateful-reading-10176779

After Miss Fidler's letter ordering her to appear in court she contacted Cllr Tony Jones who has been helping her deal with this issue.

Of the meeting Miss Fidler said: "It was Tony that worked his magic. He's been amazing."

Cllr Jones said: "I worked very hard with Tracey behind the scenes, I'm pleased that both she and the council officers were very constructive despite all the stress this has brought.

"I believe we have come up with the right solution.

"I do believe that the council should have these kinds of powers but, given the circumstances I don't believe that this was the best for Tracey."

The council's statement said that they would work with Miss Fidler and her family 'to provide any support they need' and Cllr Jones said that the council will be in touch with Miss Fidler and she will be able to work out any support with them and he said he would be keeping in touch with Tracey himself.
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