County Truancy Figures Down Again

FOLLOWING recent reports that national truancy figures have risen, the number of pupils truanting in Oxfordshire has fallen for the third year running. .

According to provisional pupils absence data published today by the Department for Education and Skills, in Oxfordshire the unauthorised absence rate in both primary and secondary schools has fallen from 0.64 per cent in May 05, to 0.58 per cent in May, 06.

The unauthorised absence figure for all schools in England rose from 0.78 per cent in 04/05 to 0.79 per cent in 05/06. This figure relates to the percentage of half-days missed by pupils in both the primary and secondary sector.

Barry Armstrong, the County Council?s Officer for Attendance and Pupil Welfare, said: “We are heartened by the continued reduction in the levels of truancy from our schools.
“Our figures are better than the national average and we have one of the lowest levels of truancy in the South East region but we cannot afford to be complacent.
“While truancy rates continue to fall levels of absence because of illness, holidays and other forms of unauthorised absence continue to be a concern. We have much work to do to impress on parents the importance of ensuring that their children attend every session possible. The links between a child?s level of attendance and their attainment in school are very clear, high absence correlates with poor achievement.
“The improvements reported in Oxfordshire are an indication of the continued efforts being made by our schools and all agencies working together.”

Analysis of pupil absence data for Oxfordshire:

The secondary picture shows the unauthorised absence rate fell from 1.01 per cent in 04/05 to 0.88 per cent in 05/06. The national rate for unauthorised absence at secondary level fell from 1.23 per cent in 04/05 to 1.22 per cent in 05/06.

The primary picture shows that levels of unauthorised absence fell from 0.30 per cent in 04/05 to 0.28 per cent in 05/06. The national rate for unauthorised absence at primary level rose from 0.43 per cent in 04/05 to 0.46 per cent in 05/06