Yahoo News Kerry Katona: Truancy claims are b******s - I'm not a bad mum
Kerry Katona has said the truancy claims against her children are b******s adding, “they do f*** all at the end of term anyway.
The 38-year-old bankrupt, single-mother-of-five has explained why she decided to plead guilty to failing to send one of her children to school at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last month.
Katona told the Daily Mirror: “We’re a one-parent family with one car.
“So we think because they’ve been a few minutes late for registration they’ve been marked for a full day absent when they’ve been in school.
“I let my child off school three days before Christmas last year because I was up north doing panto and wanted all my kids to join me.
“They do f*** all at the end of term anyway.
“There were around another three days off sick. But 45 days off? No way. Pure b******s.
“And on those very few sick days, I forgot to pick up the phone to report the absence because I was so busy doing all this.”
Last month Katona plead guilty to East Sussex County Council’s claim one of her child’s school attendance fell as low as 48% between April and November last year. She was fined £500 and ordered to pay a further £425 in costs. Persistent absence in the UK is classed as when attendance falls below 90%.
Katona is mother to daughters, Molly, 17, and Lilly-Sue, 16, by first husband, Westlife’s Brian McFadden, a daughter Heidi, 12, and 11-year-old son Max by second husband Mark Croft, and five-year-old daughter Dylan-Jorge by her third, George Kay.
The former Atomic Kitten star was declared bankrupt in 2008 and revealed how she now lives of freebies in order to maintain any semblance of her former celebrity lifestyle.
Katona explained: “I lost everything. I’m a single mum and constantly working. But people think because my name’s in the papers I’m minted.
Read more: Kerry Katona fined £500 for not sending her child to school
“If a firm sends me on holiday in return for reviews, I’ll go – I could never afford it on my own. All my clothes I get sent to me for free.
“My car’s in my agent’s name. I’ve never paid for any of my surgery. It’s done on the agreement that I advertise for them. I’m not on any benefits.
“I rarely go out and never drink in the house. I work my arse off. But life is different from when I was a millionaire with a Lamborghini and Ferrari.
“I’m not on my arse, but my social life consists of doing a food shop in Morrisons. At times I worry about putting enough food on the table.”
