TRUANCY rates have risen in the past year and throughout 2009, nearly one million half-days were taken off school without authorisation. Schools in Kent accounted for 816, 570 of these absences. Canterbury was the worst affected.
Truancy rates are continuing to rise at alarming rates and experts are unable to find the cause for this unexpected increase. Canterbury social inclusion manager, Alan Dennington, said: "we believe the reason for the rise in truancy is because the head teachers are getting stricter on it. Usually, pupils try to defy what their teachers want." This is one of many theories put forward by the council to try and make sense of the rise.
Teachers have cut back on allowing parents to take their children on holiday during term time and many holiday forms have been denied. Jane Wheatley, head teacher at Dartford Grammar school for girls said: "you cannot continue to let children take time off of school during term time as the curriculum is important and the pupils need to be available for all of it."
Mother of two, Karen Junes, fights back against the idea of denying holiday forms, and said: "I am not going to cancel my holiday due to a teacher telling me no." Many parents feel the same way about this. In a poll of 50 people in Canterbury, 48% say that people go on holiday during term time due to money issues and it becomes a lot more expensive out of term. They also say that they would not hesitate to take their children out of school.
Children that have an attendance below 80% are classed as ‘persistent absentees’ by government laws and are asked to fill in sheets at their schools as to why they were absent on the given dates. Last year 600 mothers and fathers in Kent were prosecuted for repetitive unauthorised absences.
While on the subject of child truancy rates, a Canterbury council spokeswoman explains: "until we go above national average, we are not in any need to panic. It is a shame that it is on the rise, but it is not rising alarmingly." In Canterbury there are 5.2% of unauthorised absentees in primary schools and 6.78 percent in secondary schools.
The council spokeswoman goes on to say: "it seems that since the government have had problems with the war on terrorism, schools have taken a backseat." Recently, in an interview with BBC, Gordon Brown spoke out about schools and said: "We have offered every 16 and 17 year old a ‘September Guarantee’, which means we are funding a guaranteed place at school, college, training or in an apprenticeship for every 16 and 17-year-old that wants one." This has been put into effect since September this year and is set to improve truancy rates within sixth forms.
Canterbury council, as well as many other councils around Kent, are taking lengths to ensure that unauthorised absents begin to decrease by next year. Canterbury council is employing a special unit of individuals to change problems as they arise. Sally Pickersgill, of Canterbury city council, said: "there are a lot of changes to be made, but we believe that we have a lot of good ideas that will help toward improving truancy rates. One that we are particularly proud of is 511."
511 is a program aimed at children from ages 5-11 in an attempt to keep them interested in school. This team specialises in arts and crafts as well as teaching children Mathematics and other academic subjects. Laura Armstrong, head and co-founder of the group 511 said: "this is a step in the right direction, by teaching children from an early age that academic subjects can be fun, it encourages them to participate in school activities and ultimately enjoy it more.’
For children and young adults that do not fit into the 5-11 year old categories, there are a lot of other groups available in Canterbury. ‘Street Runner’ and ‘Street Team’ are two of many set-up for young adults up until the age of 18. All of which offer education and support. This is a part of the idea to show children and young people that education can be exciting.
The council is also in the process of setting up a program for parents. Laura Armstrong, said: "the problem cannot lie just with the children, many of these are too young to understand the good that an education will do for them in future life."
Counselors are available to visit at different areas or to speak to on the phone and all calls are treated as anonymous. Parents can call or make an appointment to discuss ways in which they can get their children involved in school activities. This involves certain books to read, information on the syllabus that they will be covering in school, as well as how to help them with homework in effective but supportive ways. Counselors are also available for parents who are struggling with their children.
Schools are closely working with the council to encourage fewer absentees; they have just begun football programmes that are available to all students directly after school. Amber Macintosh, has a child at a local Canterbury school. She said: "my child is reluctant to go to school due to not having anything fun to do. I think if after school activities were available, it would give them a want to go to school in the first place.’
Charlton challenge, a course ran by local football team, Charlton Athletic, is an after school project for children up to the age of 16. It allows pupils to play football at a level comfortable for them. They will then progress to a higher level after completing challenges set by the club. Jonathan Adams, chairman of Charlton challenge said: "this is a new idea for the children, it has worked extremely successfully at London schools, and we are finally broadening our horizons in a south eastern direction. This is great for the club as well as the pupils involved."
Many areas of expertise are interacting with children to try and cut levels of truancy down to a minimum. Alan Dennington said: "we want rates of truancy to fall by 2% by the end of next year and we will achieve this. With further plans for the future as well as a great team behind us, I believe we are on the right track."
