Investigation into discipline in schools

Feb 27 2009 by Nicola Juncar, The Journal

North East schools buck national trend on truancies

TRUANCY in England’s schools rose slightly last year, with more than 63,000 children skipping class every day, Government statistics showed yesterday.

More than 233,000 children were classed as “persistent absentees”, missing at least one day of school every week.

However, local authorities in the North East all saw a drop in the percentage of half days - morning or afternoons - missed due to unauthorised absence. The figures were for the last academic year, from September 2007 to July 2008, and were compared to the previous year. North Tyneside schools saw the biggest decrease in the region. Its figure for half days missed has dropped from 7.41% in 2006/07 to 6.5%, the lowest in the North East.

Sunderland saw the second best improvement with truancy down from 7.87% to 7.23%, while in Northumberland it reduced by 0.6% to 6.68%. Newcastle still had the highest figure for truancy in the region, with 8.89% of half days missed, although that was a fall of 0.57% from 9.46% in 2006/07.

Gateshead’s figure fell by 0.46% from 7.74% to 7.28%. Both Durham and South Tyneside saw a decrease of 0.36%, with Durham’s figure now standing at 7.33% and South Tyneside’s at 7.75%.

Nationally, children in all schools missed 5.28% of sessions in 2007/08, down from 5.59%.

But the unauthorised absence rate rose to the highest level on record, with 1.01% of half-days missed last year - up from 1% in 2006/07, the figures showed.