Barbara Davidson speaks to the parents of a child who could face a prison sentence because they can't get their daughter to go to school.

Naomi Mitchell hates school.

Most of us took a "sickie" at some point during our schooldays, when the prospect of double maths or an afternoon of Shakespeare proved just too much.

But Naomi dislikes school so much she has not been seen there since March.

Before then, the 15-year-old attended Durrington High School in Worthing on an irregular basis.

Naomi said: "I don't go because I don't like the people there.

"Stuff goes on that the teachers don't know about. I'm just not happy there and I don't think that's going to change."

Naomi's failure to attend may have serious consequences for her parents, who are divorced.

Her father, Philip Mitchell, mother Celia Gander and her new husband, Steven, have been threatened with prosecution if Naomi is not back at school within the week.

They are furious because they say they have spent months begging for help.

They believe it would be fairer and more effective if the authorities were to prosecute Naomi, not them.

Mr Mitchell, of Shelldale Road, Portslade, says he and his ex-wife have approached the school, local education authority and social services many times to get help.

He blames the stress caused by the stand-off for a heart attack he suffered last year.

He said: "We have tried everything to get Naomi to school, from bribing her to physically dragging her there.

"I would put her bodily in one door of the car and she'd be out the other.

"When she did a week of school at the start of term last year we rewarded her by buying her clothes and taking her out for a meal to say thank you. But nothing works.

"She is a very single-minded young lady who just does not want to go to school.

"I feel let down by the authorities. We've tried everything. What are we supposed to do?

"We've gone to every conceivable agency we can think of and we just don't know where to turn.

"We know she is missing out on an important time of her education but it is not for lack of trying.

"We don't feel we can cope and have constantly asked social services to take Naomi into respite care for a few weeks to give us all a break and Naomi time to think. They just say they can't offer us that.

"As parents, we feel handcuffed. It seems like we are in a trap."

Naomi and her mother met education representatives and the school earlier this week.

They were told prosecution was likely if Naomi did not go back within a week.

An Oxfordshire mother was last month jailed for 60 days for allowing her children to play truant.

The case of Patricia Amos was believed to be the first time the courts had jailed a parent under powers gained in November 2000, when the maximum penalty for allowing a child to truant was raised from a £1,000 to a £2,500 fine and/or three months in prison.

The thought her parents could receive a similar punishment has left Naomi feeling guilty.

Speaking on Wednesday she said she would try to go back to school to protect her parents.

She attended school for two hours that day but has not been back since.

Naomi, who lives with her mother in The Strand, Goring, near Worthing, insists her parents have done everything possible.

She said: "Even if my parents get fined, the problem is still going to be there.

"I'm not sure what anyone can do but punishing my parents won't help."

She was not worried about missing out on her education.

Her mother said: "Naomi goes around with older people who have already left school. She says she has grown out of it and her plan is to go to college when she is 16.

"I know it sounds awful but I think there should be some way for Naomi herself to be prosecuted.

"We've taken away all her privileges but at the end of the day she's bigger than me. I'm not willing to be fined or jailed because my 15-year-old daughter won't go to school.

"They have got this threat of prison now but although there are some adults who make no effort and deserve to be fined, we have done our utmost.

"I was particularly upset when they said they would have to prosecute.

"It was only because I pursued the matter that the meeting with the school authorities was held in the first place.

"It hardly seems fair. Every time we ask social services for help, they offer us things such as counselling but won't offer us the one thing which would really help - respite care.

"And it was only after I contacted the school a couple of times to ask if anything was going to happen that the education authority wrote to say we could be prosecuted."

Mark Anstiss is acting headteacher at Durrington High School.

He would not comment on Naomi's individual case but said the school had an attendance policy and worked hard with parents and pupils to ensure children attended school.

He said: "In the news recently there was a girl diagnosed as a school phobic and I don't believe there is going to be a prosecution there. Then there is the other case where the woman was sent to prison.

"I think there are important distinctions between these two cases and it's up to the education welfare officer and the courts to decide the difference between them and relate them to individual cases.

"I have sympathy for parents. We do try to work in partnership with all sorts of agencies, parents and pupils to ensure the barriers children have in coming to school, whether academic or an issue of bullying or whatever it may be, are overcome."

"I would suggest parents are becoming more anxious because education welfare workers appear to be exercising their powers faster and more thoroughly."

Naomi's local education authority, West Sussex County Council, said it did not comment on individual cases as a matter of policy.

But a spokesman said: "We are committed to supporting and encouraging families with a view to achieving positive results that will ultimately benefit the child or children.

"The ultimate responsibility is for the parent to ensure a child goes to school.

"However, court is a final sanction, one we would try to avoid by working closely with parents."

Last year, Naomi's parents asked Brighton and Hove City Council to take Naomi into temporary care.

The council refused, saying care was "a last resort" but stressed it was keen to work with the family to explore alternative solutions.