In 2010-11, the North East had the highest percentage of children regularly absent from school in the country, with more than 20,000 pupils missing at least a month of school, according to figures from the Department for Education. Middlesbrough and Newcastle both came in the bottom ten of local authorities ranked on their percentage of persistently absent pupils. Each had a rate of 8.8 per cent, compared to the national average of 6.1 per cent.
Yesterday the Government announced their plans to crackdown on school absences following the publication of a review by their Expert Advisor on Behaviour, Charlie Taylor. Taylor’s independent review called ‘Improving attendance at schools’ makes a series of recommendations to tackle persistent absenteeism and to give greater emphasis on addressing truancy at primary level such as:
- Make data on attendance in reception classes available along with local and national averages – this fits with the government’s policy of giving as much information as possible about school performance.
- Publish national statistics on attendance for the whole year, not just up until half term in the summer, as is currently the case. The exception to this would be for Year 11.
- Asks Ofsted to set specific, timed targets for improving attendance in schools where it is low.
- Encourage all primary schools to analyse their data on attendance so that they can quickly pick up on children who are developing a pattern of absence including in nursery and reception.
These recommendations have been accepted by the Government.
On the issue of term-time holidays, the review does not recommend the introduction of an outright ban, suggesting that Head Teacher discretion should remain but that the rules should be ‘toughened up’. The Government has stated that it will amend the Pupil Registration Regulations to make clear that schools should only give permission where there are exceptional circumstances. However, it was the announcement that the Government plans to change to parental sanctions for school absence in response to the review that captured the media’s interest.
Last year, 820 penalty notices were issued for unauthorised school absence by councils in the North-East and North Yorkshire. From September, Head Teachers will be able to impose an increased fine of £60 on parents whom they consider are allowing their child to miss too much school without a valid reason and if they fail to pay within 28 days it will double to £120, to be paid within 42 days.
The Government is also considering whether to implement the review’s recommendation that once the fine has doubled, the money should be recovered automatically from child benefit. Parents who do not receive child benefit and fail to pay fines would have the money recovered through the county courts.
Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove said: “Successive governments have focussed overwhelmingly on tackling truancy amongst older children…Improving the attendance of younger children at primary school will reduce the number who develop truancy problems when they are older…. I agree that the current penalty notice scheme should be simplified. I will work with my colleagues in the Government to explore ways to make the payment of penalty notices swift and certain.”
The need for a more streamlined system was supported by ASCL General Secretary, Brian Lightman, who said "Schools do not want to have to resort to fining parents, but sometimes it is the only option left. For these rare cases, the system needs streamlining so that fines are an effective deterrent rather than an idle threat. "
Christine Blower of the NUT, however, criticised the idea of deducting money from child benefit, arguing that this “will have huge financial repercussions for many families. Having less money for food and bills will simply create a whole new set of problems." Her view was echoed by a number of child poverty campaigners and family charities who highlighted the link between poverty and absenteeism and raised concerns over the pressure the moves could place on struggling families. Nationally, the statistics for the 2010-11 school year showed that children on free school meals, or those with special educational needs, were about three times more likely to be persistently absent.
Do you agree with the recommendations and do you think they will reduce persistent absenteeism? How has your school tackled this issue? What has been the most effective approach you have implemented to address truancy? Let us know by emailing think@schoolsnortheast.com