

When Charlie Bowden's beloved dog died, the youngster was devastated.



After a tearful night, the 14-year-old's father decided his son was too upset to attend school that day and rang to explain why he would be absent.



Cliff Bowden was astonished when two truancy officers turned up at his home a few hours later and demanded Charlie go back to school.



Seeing his son was still upset, Mr Bowden told the two officers to leave.



Charlie is not a boy who needs coercion to attend classes. Indeed, the youngster has won awards for his excellent attendance record.



Until the death of his pet, Susie, he had not missed a day of school this year. Last year, he had a 99 per cent attendance record.



"I couldn't believe it when there was the knock on the door," said Mr Bowden, 49.



"Charlie has never played truant in his life but they said the death of his dog was not a good enough reason for him to be absent.



"They tried to suggest he put on his uniform and go back but he was still really upset."



Susie, a nine-year-old mongrel, died on Sunday night after having a fit. Charlie had owned her since she was a puppy.



Mr Bowden, an art gallery assistant from Anfield, contacted his son's school, North Liverpool Academy, on Monday to say his son would not be present that day.



"When he woke up his eyes were still red and he didn't want to go to school because he just didn't feel up to it," said Mr Bowden. "He thought he might get upset in front of his friends.



"Charlie had grown up with Susie, he always played with her and took her for walks after school. They were great companions.



"The dog was also a great comfort to Charlie when his mother died of ovarian cancer four years ago."



Mr Bowden said that when the officers told his son to put his uniform on and go to school, he "didn't like their attitude" and asked them to leave.



"If I'd lied and said Charlie was ill there would have been no problem, but because I had told the truth the school sent the attendance officers around," he said.



"What annoyed me was Charlie never plays truant. I suppose I'm lucky in that sense because he loves school and doesn't like missing classes.



"There must be loads of children who don't even know what the inside of a school looks like that they should have been looking for."



Mr Bowden added: "In my mind it's all about figures. The school seems more bothered about hitting truancy targets and keeping absenteeism down.



"The principal has said children have got to leave their emotional baggage on the school steps but sometimes that's just impossible.



"Losing a pet is an emotional experience for a child. It was just really heartless."



North Liverpool Academy - one of the Government's 27 flagship city academies - opened last month as an amalgamation of the former Anfield and Breckfield comprehensives.



Principal Kay Askew apologised to the Bowden family for the visit by education welfare officers.



"Their role is not designed to punsih children for not going to school. Rather, it is to look after the welfare of children and encourage them to go back to school," she said.



In 2003, Liverpool City Council was awarded £250,000 by the Government to tackle truancy. As part of the scheme, schools send officers to visit parents the first day a child misses class, except if the pupil is ill.







