Bunking off, wagging, skiving, or skipping – the names children give for staying away from lessons without the school's permission depends on where they live. Teachers and parents take a less lighthearted approach to the serious problem of truancy.
For some youngsters, playing truant may be a straightforward act of rebellion. The 14-year-old who eschews French lessons in favour of the town centre burger bar may be bored and in search of excitement. On the other hand their absence from the classroom could indicate a raft of problems, everything from bullying to learning difficulties. The reasons behind truancy can be complicated and research shows it's on the increase.
Lost learning
Children lose five million days of their education each year through playing truant without the knowledge of their parents or through days off school taken with their parent's blessing.
When Manchester education welfare officers carried out a truancy sweep in the city's town centre last Christmas they gathered up 59 children in the first two hours alone. Over a two week period the education team confronted 380 truants, often with their parents, who were busy Christmas shopping when they should have been in school. John Carvel in the Guardian (November 1999) estimated that every school day about 50,000 pupils play truant.
Cutting truancy is one of the government's education pledges – it wants to reduce the number skipping school by a third by September 2002 but school performance figures for last year show the numbers are increasing. The average rate for unauthorised absences in English schools has risen from 1% to 1.1%. For more information about the scale of truancy go to help and info.
A number of initiatives have been introduced to tackle the problem including electronic registration and regular sweeps of town centres by police and education welfare staff.
Playing away
Truancy is an emotive word, says Susan Rees, of the charity, Advisory Centre for Education. What is classed as truancy can depend largely on the school's attitude to the 'truant' or their problems.
'A parent might say they're keeping their child off school because they're being bullied. The school might call it truancy. It's a word that's often used to cover a wide range of reasons for absence,' she says.
Young Minds, the children's mental health charity also warns against leaping to conclusions about truancy. The organisation argues that poor attendance can be symptomatic of mental health problems which in turn can be caused by a range of factors including poor parenting, parental conflict, relationship breakdown, bereavement and poverty.
Here sir
When schools complete their registers they must distinguish between authorised and unauthorised absences. It is worth noting that parents can't sanction an absence by sending a note or making a call. Only the school can okay the day off by accepting the explanation.
It is reasonable to assume that playing truant is something that's done without the knowledge of a parent or carer. But for many schools parentally condoned absence is a greater problem. Schools should be able to enlist the support of parents when it comes to tackling truancy. But when a parent doesn't value education, wants their child to help them out at home or believes their child has good reasons for staying away, the task is altogether more challenging.
Parents
Parental attitudes to education are crucial to schools success in keeping children in school.
'If a parent had a very negative experience of school themselves they may sympathise with a child skipping lessons,' says Peter Eldrid of Parentline Plus. The sick notes reporting a string of unlikely sounding conditions may point to a form a legitimised truancy, he says.
Studies have highlighted the importance of parental attitudes. Research carried out in 1993 found that 44% of truanting pupils believed their parents knew they were absent. Of non-truants 48% said they were held back by their fear of their parents finding out.
It is not just parents who did badly at school that are concerning ministers. The government has blasted otherwise supportive parents who think nothing of taking their family holidays during term time. Critics of 'tourist truants' say two weeks in the French Alps which means they miss vital parts of the curriculum gives just as negative a message to a child as a note for a fortnight off school for a mild cold.
Schools will only exceptionally agree to your child missing more than 10 school days for a family holiday or other reason during one year. Some schools may refuse to authorise any absence for holidays.
Does it matter?
Children who play truant very often select the lessons they want to miss, says Peter Eldrid of the parents advice charity Parentline Plus. Usually these are subjects they find difficult or boring or where they clash with the teacher. One common pattern is for truants to attend school for morning and afternoon registration but somehow sneak out during the day.
Missing lessons is bad news for any young person and truancy is likely to have a negative impact on their education and job prospects.
High rates of absence and truancy have an impact on all pupils, say schools. Children who constantly turn up late for lessons are disruptive and truanting has a negative effect on school morale. Also children who are truanting could be in physical danger or at risk from being drawn into criminal activity.
When the pressure's on
Young people face a range of pressures at school. They may be bored or disillusioned with education. Maybe their educational needs aren't being met. Staff or parent's expectations of them could be too high and they might need extra help, or too low resulting in boredom.
Parents who are concerned about their child's progress should ask to meet the school's special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), which could lead to extra help and support.
The law
Most local education authorities employ education welfare officers (EWOs), sometimes called education social workers, to monitor attendance and help parents fulfil their responsibilities under the law.
Welfare officers often visit families whose children fail to attend school regularly. These visits are the start of a process which may, in the worst cases, end with the family being taken to court.
Parents and carers have a duty in law to ensure their registered school age children are educated. Under the law children must receive schooling from the start of the term after their fifth birthday to until the third Friday in June in the school year in which they turn 16. The local education authority may take legal proceedings against parents whose children do not regularly attend the school (unless the parents can prove they're being successfully educated at home).
The LEA can also take parents to court if their child is persistently late for school. Parents who fail to comply with court orders can be fined up to £2,500 and/or be put in prison for up to three months.
home educators
School is not compulsory but parents must ensure their children are educated. The law allows parents to educate their children at home if they fulfil certain conditions. If you teach at home you must make sure they are suitably educated for their age and ability. Parents are not legally required to inform the LEA that they have decided to educate their child at home but it is advisable to do so. They should inform the school where their child is registered.
What to do next
For many parents a call from their child's school is the first time they hear their child has been truanting. Feelings of shock, surprise and embarrassment can quickly give way to anger. But no matter how furious you are with your child you need to discuss the matter at the earliest opportunity, calmly. And before deciding which course of action to take.
Child psychologists point out that your child may have very good reasons for failing to attend school and it's important to establish first what lies behind the problem. Truancy can be a cry for help, so steaming in with all guns blazing could be counterproductive.
tips for tackling truancy
Parentline Plus, has this advice for parents:
- It is important to respond to any calls or letters you receive from the school – failure to do so could make the problem worse.
- Telephone or write to the school and arrange a meeting with the headteacher, deputy head or head of year to discuss the problem.
- Ask if you can take a friend or relative with you for support and make a list of things you want to ask before attending the meeting.
- Make a list of points made at the meeting. Try to stay calm even if you don't agree with what they say and listen to them.
- If you feel like you have too much on your plate already, or are dealing with divorce or bereavement, it is important to see the school as a source of support. Accept any help offered. You can tell the school, in confidence, about problems you're experiencing at home. These may shed light on your child's behaviour and help staff decide the right course of action.
- You are likely to achieve the best results by talking to your child when both you and they are calm.
- Try to avoid making your child the problem – it is their behaviour that's the problem and behaviour can be changed.
- Don't blame or shame but do let them know how you feel.
Listen to them. Ask them to explain their behaviour. If things get heated, have a break and talk another time.
- Even if you do not agree with what they are saying it is important to keep the lines of communication open. Try to let them know you are there to support them.
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Organisations
Advisory Centre for Education
1C Aberdeen Studios
22 Highbury Grove
London N5 2DQ
Tel: 020 7354 8318
Advice line: 0808 800 5793 (Mon-Fri 2-5pm)
E-mail:
enquiries@ace.dialnet.com
Website:
www.ace-ed.org.uk
An independent national advice centre for parents offering legal information, support and advice in relation to education, including topics such as exclusion from school, bullying and special educational needs. It can also advise parents on appealing to local education authorities and schools over admissions.
Kidscape
2 Grosvenor Gardens
London SW1W 0DH
Helpline: 08451 205 204 (Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm)
Tel: 020 7730 3300
Website:
www.kidscape.org.uk
Charity committed to keeping children safe from bullying and child abuse. The helpline provides practical advice to parents on any concerns about school bullying. Kidscape promotes peer support programmes in schools which encourage senior pupils to help younger children who may be being bullied or feel threatened. The website includes a forum for children to talk about their experiences of bullying, details of courses to help children to cope with bullying and you can order free booklets and leaflets on child safety and the prevention of bullying and abuse.
Parentline Plus
Helpline: 0808 800 2222 (24 hours)
Textphone: 0800 783 6783
Tel: 020 7284 5500
E-mail:
contact@parentlineplus.org.uk
Website:
www.parentlineplus.org.uk
Offers support to anyone parenting or helping to raise children, from newborn babies to young adults. There are free telephone and email helplines, parenting courses and information leaflets. The website offers lots of advice, real-life stories and relevant news as well as a helpful A-Z of related topics, such as discipline, truancy and bullying.
YoungMinds
102-108 Clerkenwell Road
London EC1M 5SA
Tel: 020 7336 8445 (for info and publications)
Parents' Information Service: 0800 018 2138 (free, Mon to Fri 10am-1pm,Tues-Thur 1-4pm)
Website:
www.youngminds.org.uk
National charity committed to improving the mental health of all children and young people. Services include the Parents' Information Service, which is a free confidential helpline for any adult with concerns information about the mental health of a child or young person. YoungMinds also offers consultancy, seminars and training, leaflets and booklets for young people, and publishes a bi-monthly magazine.
Websites
Children Who Do Not Go To School
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealt...ndtruancy.aspx
Factsheet for parents and teachers from the Royal College of Psychiatrists on the subject of school refusal and truancy and associated behaviour of truanting children. It looks at the different causes of truancy and considers the underlying problems that leads to it, such as anxiety about the home, learning difficulties and parents keeping their children out of school for company.
Playing Truant
www.youthinformation.com
Article from the National Youth Agency aimed at young people describing some of the reasons why some young people play truant and what the consequences of bunking off school can be.
Tackling It Together – The School Attendance Website
www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolattendance
The government's School Attendance Website provides information on school attendance issues and good practice, case studies, FAQs and a list of useful publications and courses. The site offers useful information to everyone concerned in education and children's welfare, including local education authorities, schools, police authorities, social services, parents, magistrates and youth offending teams.
Reading
|
Truancy: Working with Teachers, Pupils and Schools
by Ken Reid
(Routledge Farmer 2002)
This book provides a comprehensive and systematic treatment of short, medium and long-term approaches to truancy issues, as well as looking at the varying successes of mentoring and alternative curriculum strategies and how schools can involve parents to help tackle the problem. |
|
School Refusal: Parent, adolescent and child training skills
by David Heyne and Stephanie Rollings
(BSP Blackwell 2002)
An accessible guide designed for anyone working with children, adolescents and their families. it provides a practical insight into school refusal and other forms of school attendance problems and helps develop ways to deal with the problem and its causes. |
None of the Administrators, Moderators, or general users can take any responsibility for the results or consequences of any attempt to use or adopt any of the information presented on this web site. The information given is for a guide and helping hand towards finding accurate information tailored to specific needs by professionals.
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