A mum was hit with a £120 fine for allowing her daughter to skip school because she is "too depressed to attend."
Natasha Beauvois has been trying her hardest to get her 14-year-old daughter Maisie to go to class at the Pimlico Academy.
But the teenager suffers from anxiety and depression and suffers panic attacks at the mere idea of returning to lessons in Westminster, central London.
"She doesn't want to go to school, what can I do? She just says she's sorry and she does not want to go," Natasha told My London via its Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Maisie has been struggling to attend lessons since the pandemic when schools were forced to close for extended periods, the mum explained.
But despite efforts to encourage her daughter, Maisie continued to skip class which resulted in the hefty fine.
"She hasn't been going to school properly since Covid. It's unfair that parents are being fined," Natasha said.
"I know you are responsible to get them to school but what do you do if they don't want to go? How far does the responsibility go?"
Natasha even had to face the court after failing to pay a fine for absence issued by Pimlico Academy.
But the mum hit back at the school and criticised staff for failing to offer any long-term solutions to help her struggling daughter.
"They have done a few things but nothing substantial," she said.
"Once she is in there it's almost like that's it. She's in school and that's all they seem concerned about.
"She's a very clever girl and it's going to waste because she's not going into school."
Natasha has tried to take Maisie to the GP to ease her difficulties and has also made a request for her daughter to study alone for a few hours each day.
But she claims that the academy said this would not be possible.
The mum spoke to her daughter about going to another school or home-schooling instead of attending in person.
Another option could be sending Maisie to a specialist unit but the youngster has so far refused.
Natasha pleaded guilty at the City of London Magistrates Court on September 21.
"Good luck getting your child to school is all I can say," Magistrate Jan Carr said upon sentencing.
The mum was ordered to pay £163 including the fine and court costs.
This will be taken out of her Universal Credit Payments in £20 instalments.
The Mirror Online has contacted Pimlico Academy for comment.
