Lazy mother jailed for allowing her 13-year-old son to miss 174 school days because she wanted a lie-in

A mother has been jailed after she allowed her teenage son to miss 174 days of school so she could have a lie-in.

The woman failed to get the 13-year-old ready for school in time and he only made it to 31 out of 205 sessions at his school in Swansea, South Wales.

A court heard how education chiefs went to her home to investigate and found the woman still in her pyjamas.

Swansea Magistrates Court heard that the mother had let the boy miss 174 days of school so she could lie-in

Felicity Lewis, who was prosecuting on behalf of Swansea Council, said: ‘The mother was frequently in bed so her child was not ready for school.

‘It is of major concern to the education welfare service that her child has not been able

to access the building blocks of education.’

Swansea magistrates heard education staff tried a ‘pick-up and drop-off service’ and even home schooling.

But the mother - who cannot be named for legal reasons - failed to co-operate.

She claimed her son had been ‘crying his eyes out’ at the thought of going to school.

But the court heard how the boy had plenty of friends and was not bullied.

The woman was jailed for nine weeks - making her one of only a handful of British parents sent to prison for allowing their children to miss school.

She wept as magistrates told her it was one of the worst cases they had come across.

Chair of the bench Diane Reynolds told her: ‘You have failed consistently and over a long period to ensure that your son has been attending school.’

‘We feel the current offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.’

DM