1.1% of half days missed due to unauthorised absence in 2004/05 (0.78 per cent in England)
- 21.8% of primary pupils did not have English as their first languagein January 2005 (11.7 per cent in England)
- 2.8% of primary pupils with special educational needs statements inJanuary 2005 (2.3 per cent in England)
- 17.3% of nursery and primary school pupils taking free school meals inJanuary 2005 (13.4 per cent in England)
Ofsted has described Sandwell council's attendance figures as"unsatisfactory".
The 2005 annual performance assessment said: "The figures for bothauthorised and unauthorised absence were higher than those ofstatistical neighbours. Addressing this has been given a highpriority."
Source: Department for Education and Skills.
