Shropshire school attendance bucks national truancy trend
Thursday 26th May 2011, 11:41AM BST.
School attendance in the Shropshire education area has risen, bucking national figures which show a record numbers of pupils skipped lessons.
Official statistics show that across the country the truancy rate rose to 1.04 per cent for the autumn term 2010, an 11.8 per cent increase from 0.93 per cent for the same term in 2009.
The hike was fuelled by rising numbers of primary school pupils missing school without permission.
In the Shropshire Council area there were 0.72 per cent of unauthorised absences while for Telford & Wrekin the figure was 0.96 per cent.
Attendance has risen in both the primary and secondary sectors in Shropshire.
Janice Stackhouse, Shropshire Council’s principal education welfare officer, said excellent figures were due to the hard work of parents, schools and the council.
She said: “The relationships between these groups ensure that schools are places young people want to be in, that parents encourage a regular school attendance habit and that the council ensures that pupils are able to access the education to which they have a right.”
Another factor that is likely to have impacted upon the autumn terms figures is the outcome of Shropshire’s first School Attendance Week which took place in October last year to raise attendance rates.
This year’s School Attendance Week will be held between October 10 and October 14.
No-one was available for comment at Telford & Wrekin Council but it has previously been reported that truancy at schools across the borough has fallen following a concerted drive to boost attendances.
By Dave Morris
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