The parents of a 14-year-old girl who only turned up for school for the equivalent of six days over a seven-month period have been jailed for four months.
Christopher and Deborah Haine were told in court they had shown a "complete disregard" towards the school attendance of their daughter Shlaine. Anthony Harris, a chairman at Newport Magistrates' court in south Wales, said the couple had also shown contempt for the two-month suspended sentence imposed on them in January of this year for a similar conviction regarding their daughter.
Mr and Mrs Haine, both 41, of Elgar Circle, Always, Newport, were first prosecuted in 2002 for failing to ensure Shlaine and their son Caine attended school.
The court heard that Shlaine, a pupil at the city's Hartridge High school, will now live with foster parents while her mother and father serve their sentence.
Andrew Jones, prosecuting for Newport City Council, said Mr and Mrs Haine were summonsed to court in June of this year.
They both pleaded guilty to a breach of the 1996 Education Act regarding their daughter's non-attendance in school at a hearing on July 18.
He said between January 9 of this year and July 21, Shlaine was present at just 12 register calls out of a possible 226.
Mr Jones said the couple had shown a blatant disregard for their daughter's school attendance despite being sentenced to two months imprisonment, suspended for six months in January for similar offences.
