Pleading guilty to an Education Act Offence.
Should it be appropriate to plead guilty to the offence, we will mitigate to the court on your behalf so that the Magistrates or Judge can hear your side of the story. We will fight your corner so that leniency is exercised on you when needed to get you the best possible outcome.
We have on occasions been able to persuade the local authority not to proceed with a prosecution against our clients if they simply don’t have enough evidence that the offence has been committed or it would not be in the public interest to do so.
What happens if I plead not guilty?
If we advise you to plead not guilty to the offence, we will represent you at your trial and cross examine any witnesses that are called to give evidence by the prosecution. This is particularly important if you are accused with the more serious offence of knowing that your child has not been attending but failing without reasonable justification to do cause them to attend school.
What we do.
If you have been summoned to attend as a parent of a child who has failed to attend school, we can help. We are often approached by parents who are honest law abiding citizens yet have been unable to secure their child’s attendance at school who find themselves being summoned to attend court.
Court representation.
We can assist by attending court to represent you. We can review the evidence which the local authority has against you and advise you whether to plead guilty or not guilty.
Protecting your livelihood.
We have previously heard parents enter a courtroom to admit an offence not realising that leaves them with a criminal conviction with high prosecution, court costs and a financial penalty which can affect their lives, such as their employment, despite them doing all that they can to secure their child’s attendance. We will always ensure the best possible outcome for your circumstances.