Contact Group responds to release of truancy statistics

Oct. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- Following the Government’s release of the Pupil Absence in Schools in England statistics today (19th October 2011) for Autumn Term 2010 and Spring Term 2011, which reveal a slight increase in truancy levels from last year, Stephen Clarke, Managing Director of Contact Group (www.the-contactgroup.com), comments:

“The Government, schools and Local Authorities have implemented a range of tactics to tackle unauthorised absence in UK schools. The statistics released today for the last full academic year show an increase in the number of unauthorised absences in England. Evidently, truancy remains an ongoing issue that must be tackled head-on, in the most efficient ways possible.

“Truancy continues to be in the headlines and, with the Government setting more ambitious targets to deal with truancy, it is crucial that schools consider implementing efficient methods, such as attendance messaging systems, to manage and improve their students’ attendance. The Department for Education recently lowered the threshold at which a pupil is classified as a persistent absentee and it is now defined in terms of those missing around 15 per cent overall absence, down from around 20 per cent overall absence. Schools need a systematic way of analysing truancy patterns and notifying parents when their child is absent from school, this way the parents are contacted on the first day of absence - a few days of absence can turn into weeks; catching those early helps to improve overall attendance.

“During the recent riots, more pressure than ever was put on parents to ensure that their children were not on the streets. Parents should be made accountable to ensure their child attends school and contacting parents immediately whenever a child is absent from school picks up on those who are occasionally absent before they become persistent truants. Schools should also look more critically at patterns in truancy to prevent students from falling into anti-social behaviour or crime.

“Fundamentally, if students are truanting, they are not in school learning and will not achieve their full potential. Schools should consider ICT solutions, such as a truancy messaging system, to ensure that parents are contacted on the first day of absence and to monitor those who are occasionally absent before they become persistent truants. Truancy Call is the most comprehensive product on the market to address this. The system can make calls and send text notifications on their behalf, in order to alert parents immediately and catch potentially persistent truants early before it gets serious.”