Although the ostensible purpose of the body that is the subject of this analysis is to exercise a discretion as to whether or not families should be taken to court because of a child's non-attendance at school, we here argue that its underlying purpose can be interpreted as upholding and ensuring commitment to a normative view of the world which may bear little relation to the world as it really is for those appearing before the tribunal. The process by which this task is achieved is documented and is followed by a discussion of the issues that this raises for the administration of justice in this area. (Author abstract)