Education chiefs alarmed over greater truancy

Government statistics also show that the region had the highest level of secondary school pupils playing truant or being taken out of lessons without permission in the country.

Pupils are classed as being “persistent absentees” if they miss 15 per cent or more of their lessons during the school year.

The figures published yesterday for the autumn term of 2012/13 show that 45,085 pupils in Yorkshire, 20,420 in primary and 24,665 in secondary, will fall into this category if their attendance remains the same throughout the year.

The figure represents 7.1 per cent of all pupils in the region. This is up from 5.7 per cent in the autumn term of 2011.

An increase in the number of children on track to be persistently absent from school has been seen across the country. A report from the Department for Education (DfE) said this was because the absence levels in autumn 2011 had been “exceptionally low”.

And it warned that pupils who are persistently absent risk harming their life chances.

A spokesman said: “It is vital that all children attend as much school as possible. Poor attendance can have a hugely damaging effect on a child’s education. Children who attend school regularly are four times more likely to achieve five or more good GCSEs than those who are persistently absent.”

Two years ago the Government changed the definition for persistent absentees from those missing 20 per cent of lessons to those missing 15 per cent. It includes all absence from lessons both authorised and unauthorised.

The figures for unauthorised absences, which were also published yesterday, show 0.8 per cent of lessons have been missed by primary schools pupils in the region without permission while in secondary schools the figure is 1.9 per cent of lessons.

Yorkshire has the highest level of unauthorised absence at secondary school level of any region in England and the second highest outside of London at primary level.

The National Union of Teachers warned yesterday that the curriculum has an important role in ensuring pupils attend school.

General Secretary Christine Blower: “All pupil absence is a serious issue but not necessarily one for which there is an easy or quick solution. What teachers understand, however, is that the curriculum plays a major role in engaging young people and reducing disruptive behaviour.

“The proposals for the National Curriculum, and examination reform, urgently need more discussion. The concerns raised about whether the new curriculum will motivate and engage students must not be ignored.

“Vocational and academic subjects in the secondary phase must be given the recognition and space in the curriculum, and ‘speaking and listening’ skills must not be given second-class status behind reading and writing. Many pupils who truant have communication difficulties.”

The DfE also published new figures yesterday showing that 119,000 people in Yorkshire aged between 16 and 24 were not in education, employment or training in the first quarter of this year.