Editing Truancy (section)

==History==
In older [[English language|English]], a '''{{linktext|truant}}''' or '''truand''' was any vagrant, vagabond, or shirker of duties.

The widespread legal obligation for towns and villages to provide free education did not evolve until the late-19th century and was born in such legislation as the [[Education (Scotland) Act 1872]]. Over and above the obligation within such legislation for local government to provide school-buildings and -teachers, there was also a counterpart requirement for children to actually attend an educational institution, and thus the modern legal concept of school-oriented truancy was born.<ref>Education (Scotland) Act 1872 etc</ref>

Most private schools had{{when?|date=September 2024}} the concept of punishing pupils for non-attendance. This was done on a reverse principle{{vague|date=September 2024}}: and schools had in principle to get the permission of parents to punish children.<ref>''[[Tom Brown's Schooldays]]''</ref>{{qn|date=September 2024}}