What will happen to me and my parents if I don’t go into school?

When schools notice that someone is off school a lot, there are several things they can do:

• First, most will try to talk to you or your parents to find out what the problem is. If you tell them that you miss school to look after someone, they might be able to help you.
• If you have been missing a lot of school, an Education Welfare Officer (sometimes called an Education Social Worker) will try to help you. They will start by talking to you and your parents to find out what the problem is. If you need extra help getting into school, or the person you look after needs more help, they should help you. They might draw up an agreement between your family and the school about what your family and the school are going to do.
• If the school has tried to help you with an Education Welfare Officer and this has not worked, they can give your family a Parenting Order. A Parenting Order sets out what the school wants your parent(s) to do to make sure you go to school. As a last resort, if the school feels that you are refusing to go to school without a good reason, the courts can fine your parents. So it is important that your school knows the reasons why you have trouble getting to school – if they know that you are looking after someone, they should try to help your family, not punish you.