CYP Now - Education News: Truancy - 'Ethos of attendance' must be created

Schools must do more to create an "ethos of attendance" MPs said last week. A report by Parliament's Committee of Public Accounts called for improvements in efforts to reduce truancy after concluding that current approaches had failed to reduce unauthorised absence.

The report, Improving School Attendance in England, examined theGovernment's efforts to increase attendance in schools and concludedthat more needed to be done.

Conservative MP Edward Leigh, chairman of the cross-party committee'said: "The Department for Education and Skills looks to be losing groundin its battle against truancy. The latest figures on unauthorisedabsence show that, having remained at the same level for many years, thelevel of truancy has suddenly increased to more than 0.8 per cent ofschool days.

"This is in the face of massive expenditure totalling 885m overseven years on reducing absence from school by pupils. This is alarmingnews. I do acknowledge, however, the progress made in reducing the levelof total absence," he added.

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