Islington leads the way on combating truancy
This week the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is carrying out an
annual ‘truancy sweep’ across England and Wales to highlight the numbers of
children absent from schools.
In Islington, truancy is being tackled on a continuous basis. Truancy patrols,
fixed penalties for non-attendance and public information stalls are just some
of the ongoing initiatives being employed in Islington to lower truancy rates
across the borough.
DfES figures for 2004 show that Islington’s truancy rate, which is expressed
as a percentage of total attendance, is 1.4 percent. This rate compares
favourably to Islington’s neighbouring boroughs: Haringey, Hackney, Greenwich,
City of Westminster and Tower Hamlets have truancy rates between 1.8 - 2.9
percent. This indicates that Islington’s efforts are paying off.
CEA@Islington’s Community Attendance Officer and Education Welfare Officers
(EWOs) work closely on truancy-related issues with local police officers.
Regular truancy patrols throughout the year (an average of 35 per year since
2002) target truants who often visit known truancy ‘hotspots’ such as
playgrounds, parks and the main shopping areas in Islington. Patrollers will
stop any child of school age (5 – 16 years old) out of school, during school
hours, regardless of whether they are with an adult. Any child without an
‘authorised absence pass’ from their headteacher will have their details taken
and information passed back to the school. The Education Welfare and Social
Work Service work with the pupil, parent and school to resolve the reasons why
they are not attending school.
By law, all children of school age (5-16) must receive full-time education.
Since September 1 2004, a fixed penalty notice may now be served where a
parent is capable of, but does not, secure an improvement in their child’s
attendance. Islington was one of the first boroughs in the country to enforce
fixed penalty notices; these provide an alternative to prosecution so that an
appearance in court is not required.
Prior to serving any fixed penalty notices, CEA@Islington ensure that the
parent is served with a warning notice which details the consequences of
non-attendance. Additionally all parents of children in Islington schools were
sent a leaflet explaining the new procedures in advance of the September 2004
launch date and the Community Attendance Officer ran a free information stall
in the N1 shopping centre, Angel, in collaboration with the Metropolitan
Police. To date nine fixed penalty notices have been issued. Two have not been
paid within the given timescale and these parents are currently being
prosecuted through the Magistrates Court for the criminal offence of failing
to ensure their child receives education.
For further information please contact:
Louise Trewavas, Head of Communications, CEA@Islington
T: 020 7527 5826
E:
louise.trewavas.cea@islington.gov.uk
Notes
Truancy rates are expressed as a percentage of total attendance - source DfES
2004:
2.0% - Hackney
1.4% - Islington
1.2% - Camden
1.9% - City of Westminster
2.9% - Greenwich
1.8% - Haringey
1.5% - Waltham Forest
2% - Tower Hamlets
CEA@Islington’s Education Welfare Service appointed a Community Attendance
Officer in October 2002 to tackle non-attendance and develop partnerships with
schools, the Metropolitan Police, Islington Council and a full range of other
Islington agencies and initiatives that work with pupils and their families.
This followed with a launch in December 2003 of the ‘Raising Pupil Attendance
Strategy’, which combines various components of the borough’s activities to
raise pupil attendance.
Secondary absence figures over the last 7 years:
Secondary overall absence figures have significantly improved for the second
successive year, dropping by over 2.5% points. In addition there has been a
steady drop in the levels of unauthorised absence.
For more information, please contact CEA@Islington's Communications Department: