truancy facts-and figures

School Truancy
School Truancy remains an issue within the U.K
However the issue of child compliance issue isnt featured. Where a child fails to undertake the required attendance and follows his peers there seems little intervention

{The number of parents taken to court in England because of children skipping school rose sharply last year, official figures show.

In 2014 16,430 people were prosecuted for failing to ensure their children went to school, an increase of more than 3,000 - or 25% - on 2013.

Ministry of Justice figures, obtained by the Press Association, revealed more than three-quarters were found guilty.

Head teachers' leaders said good attendance was "absolutely critical".

Crackdown breakdown

The rise follows a crackdown on children missing school, including new rules on term time holidays which were introduced two years ago.

The 2014 figures, gathered in a freedom of information request to the Ministry of Justice, show:

• 12,479 people found guilty of truancy offences - up 22%
• 9,214 fines, averaging £172, issued by courts - up 30%
• 18 jail sentences in 2014 - compared with seven in 2013
• Ten of those jailed and more than half (58%) of those fined for a child missing school were women

Parents can be issued with on-the-spot penalty notices of £60 per child by schools, rising to £120 if unpaid after three weeks, if their child has an unauthorised absence.

Failure to pay, or incurring two or more fines, can lead to parents being referred to the local authority's education welfare service, which has the power to take them to court.

Courts can issue maximum fines of £2,500 or jail sentences of up to three months.

"Good attendance is absolutely critical to the education and future prospects of young people," according to Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

"Schools have rightly responded to this overwhelming evidence by taking a strong line in identifying when children are absent without a valid reason, particularly where there is persistent truancy."

'Complicated issue'

But David Simmonds, of the Local Government Association, said the increase in fines reflected "tighter enforcement by schools that are under pressure from Ofsted to meet attendance targets", as well as a rising school population.

He called for more flexibility in the rules to allow heads to take account of family circumstances where absence was unavoidable.

They "should be trusted to make decisions about a child's absence from school without being forced to issue fines and start prosecutions in situations where they believe the absence is reasonable", he said.

Rachel Burrows, of the parenting website Netmums, said a fine or threat of jail could be enough to make parents understand the seriousness of their child missing school.

However, she warned: "Long-term truancy is a complicated issue and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

"In many cases, the family may be in crisis or face issues such as a parent with mental health problems or addictions. In these cases, fines or jail won't help, as the mum or dad needs professional support to turn their lives around and be a better parent."

Mr Trobe advised parents struggling to stop their children playing truant "to talk to their school to work out a solution".

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, which has produced guidance on truancy, said fines and sanctions should be a last resort.}
BBC

Guidance

Guidance on authorised absence in schools There is some debate about what ‘exceptional circumstances’ means when deciding whether to grant absence for students during term time. We believe it is valuable to have some guiding principles to back schools in their decisions and provide consistency. This guidance has no statutory authority and is not imposed upon schools.

 1. The decision to authorise absence is at the head teacher’s discretion based on their assessment of the situation. Circumstances vary from school to school and so there can be no absolute rules on this subject. 

2. Term times are for education. This is the priority. Children and families have 175 days off school to spend time together, including weekends and school holidays. Heads will rightly prioritise attendance. The default school policy should be that absences will not be granted during term time and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. 

3. If an event can reasonably be scheduled outside of term time then it would not be normal to authorise absence. 

4. Absence during term time for holidays/vacations is therefore not considered an exceptional circumstance. 

5. Absences to visit family members are also not normally granted during term time if they could be scheduled for holiday periods or outside school hours. Children may however need time to visit seriously ill relatives. 

6. Absence for a bereavement of a close family member is usually considered an exceptional circumstance but for the funeral service only, not extended leave.

 7. Absences for important religious observances are often taken into account but only for the ceremony and travelling time, not extended leave. This is intended for one off situations rather than regular or recurring events. 

8. Schools may wish to take the needs of the families of service personnel into account if they are returning from long operational tours that prevent contact during scheduled holiday time. 

9. Schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for students with special educational needs or disabilities.

 10. Families may need time together to recover from trauma or crisis.