Mother warned over son’s school attendance

A mother has been warned to ensure her son has full school attendance or else face him being taken into care.

Addressing the woman at a recent sitting of the district court in the county, Judge James Faughnan told her that her son, who is aged 14, was legally obliged to attend school until the age of 16.

“If you can’t care for your child,” he said, “the court will put the child into care.” The Child and Family Agency (CFA) brought a prosecution against the woman as her son has missed well over half of his school days.

The court heard that the child had been home tutored as the local primary school was oversubscribed, but had subsequently missed significant periods of school, well over half of the academic year, over a two year period.

After engagement between the family and the education officer, a school attendance notice was subsequently issued in October 2025. Since that notice was issued, the attendance has improved, with absences falling to 28 per cent. The CFA noted the improvement but added that it is still far below what was required.

The solicitor for the accused said that the attendance boiled down to an integration issue and that the accused’s son is on a reduced school day.

The judge said he wanted 100 per cent attendance by the next court sitting in April. He added that he was giving the CFA liberty to bring the matter before the court before then if required.