By Gavin Macintosh And Sammie Jones
Lancanshire schools have experienced one of the most persistent absences from schools in the last year, according to new data.
New figures from the Department of Education have revealed that absent figures across the country have increased over each of the last two years. The last two years have seen academic standards rise in both primary and secondary schools, with many pupils struggling to make the jump in standards. The new standards in primary schools are high but still behind some other countries like China, Netherlands, South Africa, India, and a few others.
The National Education Union have blamed the absences on the “exam factory culture” in schools, which he said was causing disengagement among pupils. That view should be dismissed because primary and secondary school pupils in the Uk do not take exams as frequently as children in many other countries. Apart from the end of year Sats exams and the 11 plus, which is optional, primary school pupils don’t have the stress of regular exams to worry about.
Most primary schools in the Uk take occasional tests, although many are now following the periodic testing culture at top state and private schools in the country, where the kids are tested often in a stimulating atmosphere. Children who make a habit of absenting themselves from school are working against their own future. The reality is that some schools in some parts of the country do not know how to stimulate most of the pupils in their schools and create an atmosphere that keeps them engaged with a sense of self pride.
Schools can report absences to parents, and local authorities are statutorily empowered to issue fines to parents who don’t take a stand against their children’s persistent absence from school.
Department for Education numbers show that 13 per cent of state secondary pupils in Lancashire were classed as persistently absent in the autumn 2017 and spring 2018 terms, meaning they missed at leastWhen primary schools in the area are included, 11 per cent of pupils across the 567 state schools were persistently absent. In line with the national trend, it is an increase on the previous year. On average, pupils missed five days of school, which equates to four per cent of their teaching time.
Authorized absences, such as for illness or medical appointments, accounted for 79 per cent of time off. The remainder was unauthorized, and have been put down to mischief and truancy. Many pupils also took family holidays without permission .
As a result Lancashire schools have faced massive funding cuts from the British government as a result. Across England, 14 per cent of students in state secondary schools and 10% in primary were persistently absent. Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary at the NEU, said: “Pupil absence is a serious issue but not necessarily one for which there is an easy or quick solution.