SITTING in the back of the prison van in handcuffs, mum-of-four Jess Boden stared ahead in a daze.
For the first time in her life, she was about to be brought before a court.
Mum-of-four Jess Boden, 32, kept her ten-year-old daughter out of school in a bid to protect her from bullies but was locked up[/caption]
Jess lives in Teesside, where more parents are prosecuted for keeping their kids out of school than anywhere else (posed by models)[/caption]
Her crime? Keeping her ten-year-old daughter out of school in a bid to protect her from bullies.
Jess, 32, lives in Britain’s truancy capital, Teesside, where more parents are prosecuted for keeping their kids out of school than anywhere else in the UK.
In 2023-24, the North East had the highest persistent absence rate – 22.1 per cent, compared to a low of 17.9 per cent in London.
Last year, almost nine in 10 secondary school leaders put pupil absence down to mental health issues.
Jess’s daughter, now 11, had watched her mum being arrested and driven away from the family home by the Cleveland Police Matrix unit, set up to tackle serious and organised crime.
Jess, who had no criminal history, feels she underwent what she calls the most traumatic experience of her life “just for being a loving mother”.
Her case provoked fury from campaigners, who described the system – which hands mothers a criminal record instead of help – “Dickensian”.
The drama unfolded on August 1 last year – Jess and her 32-year-old partner Sam Cubitt’s son’s first birthday.
“I was sitting out the back of the house and saw the police car pull into the street. I messaged Sam saying: ‘The police are here. It’s a Matrix car, someone is in trouble’,” she says.
“A policeman got out wearing body armour and I quickly realised he was coming to my house.
“I went to the door and asked what had happened.
“‘There’s a warrant out for your arrest,’ he said. ‘You’ve been keeping your daughter off school. You’ll have to come with me.’
“It was like being in a nightmare and I pleaded with him not to arrest me. I had my four children with me and it was my little boy’s birthday.
“The police officers were kind. I don’t think they could believe what they were being asked to do.
“They agreed not to arrest me there and then, but said they would come back at 4am the next day. That was a shock, but better than the alternative.”
‘Degrading’
The following morning Jess was booked in at Middlesbrough police station and led to a bare cell with a toilet in the corner.
“It was around 12.30pm by the time they came for me, so I’d been locked up for about eight hours,” she says.
“I was then placed in handcuffs and led to a van. It was the most degrading experience of my life.”
At Teesside Magistrates Court, her case was adjourned because the solicitor for Redcar and Cleveland Council did not turn up.
Jess feels she underwent what she calls the most traumatic experience of her life ‘just for being a loving mother’[/caption]
Rachel Vecht, a former teacher, says prolonged gaps in school attendance have a major impact on learning[/caption]
When she finally came to court a week later Jess was dealt a six-month conditional discharge in light of her early guilty plea, meaning she now has a criminal record.
“Even the council’s solicitor agreed that the school had recommended our daughter be taken out of school because of the bullying,” she says.
“She started biting the skin on her fingers until they bled. As a mother, it is heartbreaking.
“We applied for four new schools without any help from the authorities, but they said they had no room.”
Although overall absence in England has decreased slightly, dropping from 7.4 per cent in 2022/23 to 7.1 per cent in 2023/24, it is still much higher than pre-pandemic, when it was just 4.7 per cent.
The police officers were kind. I don’t think they could believe what they were being asked to do
Jess
Jess and Sam’s daughter was out of school for eight months in 2023 before they felt they had to send her back to face her bullies.
Sam explains: “It broke our hearts to send her back, but we were worried for her education. We started looking into getting her a private tutor and tried to keep her busy at home with school work.
“The bullying continued, so we removed her again in 2024, still trying to find a new school.”
They were in the middle of that process when the police arrived to arrest Jess.
“I still can’t believe they made her feel like a criminal just for being a loving mother,” says Sam. “It is unforgivable.”
‘Every day was a battle’
A second Middlesbrough mum, Sophie, 35, kept her 11-year-old daughter off school in the first year of secondary because she was suffering from anxiety.
She was also arrested – while 28 weeks pregnant.
“My daughter had been suffering from anxiety and was so unhappy,” says the mum-of-four, who has a partner.
“Every day was a battle – going to school was affecting her mental health.
“She is a bright girl, but had been placed in lower ability streams. She was becoming frustrated by that and was clashing with the teachers.”
Sophie says her daughter was in and out of school for the next two months, but claims no warnings or penalties were issued.
She adds: “I was struggling with how to deal with the situation when I received a phone call at around 8pm on a Saturday night informing me a warrant had been issued for my arrest and that I needed to hand myself in to the police.
“I waited until after the weekend and then went to leave for the police station. But as I was opening the door, two policemen came to arrest me.
I still can’t believe they made her feel like a criminal just for being a loving mother
Sam
“The officers were really nice to me, but I was placed in the cell at 8.30am and stayed there until 10am, when they took me to court. It was terrifying.”
Sophie received a £200 fine with £200 costs after entering a guilty plea to failing to ensure her daughter’s regular attendance at school.
Ellie Costello, executive director with Square Peg, an organisation which works on behalf of children who “experience barriers to school attendance” says: “The treatment these mothers received is outrageous and unacceptable.
“Mothers like Jess and Sophie need help, not a criminal record.”
Elie added: “There is a huge gender inequality in prosecutions over school attendance. In the vast majority of cases it is the mothers who are taken to court – even when children are registered at their father’s address.”
My daughter had been suffering from anxiety and was so unhappy
Sophie
Sophie’s daughter, now 12, is back in school while Jess’s daughter, 11, who was absent for 14 months, is also back in the classroom.
Rachel Vecht, a former teacher who founded the parent support group Educating Matters, says prolonged gaps in school attendance have a major impact on learning.
“Missing school even sporadically can impact long-term learning, resulting in poor grades,” she explains.
“It can also impact children’s self-esteem and mental wellbeing if they return to school and feel like they are far behind their peers academically.”
In response to Jess’s case, a spokesperson for Redcar and Cleveland Council said: “We can confirm that the council applied to prosecute a parent for failing to send a child to school in September last year and magistrates upheld the application.
“However, the main focus before and after any legal action is always to try and make sure the child and family receive the help and support they need to enable the child to return to education and thrive.”
Cleveland Police confirmed officers from its Matrix team arrested Jess and that she was taken into custody, but stated they were executing a warrant issued by Teesside Magistrates Court over her non attendance at an earlier hearing.
Both Jess and Sophie claim that the first indication they were being prosecuted was direct contact with Cleveland Police and they were unaware they should have been attending previous hearings.
- *some names have been changed
School attendance: the law
In the UK, children are legally required to be in some form of education from the school term after their 5th birthday until the last Friday in June of the school year in which they turn 16.
They must attend school or be otherwise educated – such as through home education – during that period.
You can be prosecuted if you do not give your child an education.
You will normally receive warnings – including fines – and offers of help from the local council first.
Children can be absent from school if they are either too ill to attend, or have advance permission.
