The government threatens penalties for truancy. So what, in the real world, do we expect to happen? A smart reduction in truancy? or this...
Research for Cambridge University found sickness absences in a sample of 76 schools in England rose from 4.05% to 5.37% between 2002-03 and 2004-05.Some head teachers and welfare officers said they thought parents were pretending their children were sick - or taking them on holiday.
The rise coincided with a government clampdown on term-time holidays.
You cannot get rid of truancy without getting rid of the causes of truancy. The most important of these is the poor quality of many state schools. Many of the children do not learn how to read and write easily. The classes they attend come to mean nothing to them. They become disenchanted. They are compelled by law to stay until they are 16. The consequences - truancy and delinquency, too - are inevitable.
The full BBC version of the story is here.
Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in Education
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It's only a matter of time before someone in government hits on the idea of paying the little darlings to attent. How about £20/week and a new iPod at the end of term for full attendance?
Posted by: John East at June 11, 2005 04:33 PM
The state already bribes children to stay in further education colleges to the tune of £30 per day. This is means tested, it must be admitted. When my wife told her daughter that she wouldn't fill out the paperwork that would entitle her to this, she was outraged. Our view is that the last thing we needed was something that would enable a bolshie teenager to be even more bolshie, by virtue of giving her more financial independence.
This tactic paid off. She is now finishing her AS levels, but she has decided that the course was such a waste of time that she will not be attending college next term. Unlike most parents, we don't believe that the little bits of paper that are awarded for keeping this corrupt system going are worth the paper they are printed on. We are relieved that she is showing the good sense to go out and get a job. One of the fringe benefits of encouraging her to drop out is to listen to the outraged response of college teachers whose (non)jobs are already under threat because so many kids are turning their backs on the bribes. I might add that my step-daughter's main complaint is that she received no instruction worth mentioning. Tutors simply gave them projects to do and turned them loose--all in keeping with the tenets of progressive education.
Posted by: tom burkard at June 13, 2005 08:10 PM
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The state (i.e. us) pays so much per pupil per day for a child's education: require parents to refund that amount to the state for every day their child is not at school, for whatever reason.
Posted by: Steve D at June 11, 2005 10:14 AM