Truancy falls but more still to be done

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Truancy falls but more still to be done

26 March 2014

130,000 fewer pupils missed 15% of school in 2012-2013, a fall of almost a third on 2009-2010 figures.

The increase of truancy fines and the reduction in time to pay, along with the threshold for persistent absence lowered from 20% to 15% are both key contributing factors to the improving figures. With long standing evidence showing that absence has a significant impact upon attainment, however, more must be done.

Children who miss 10–20% of school have a 39% of achieving 5 A2 to C GCSEs, in comparison to 73% of children who miss less than 5% - these figures speak for themselves. Whilst the fall in truancy is clearly a step in the right direction, non-attendance and its strong link to attainment will always remain a hot topic. The Government clearly has a focus on this issue and so we should expect additional deterrents to truancy and further policy to follow over the next year.

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