Tackling truancy

The latest damning statistic shows that, since Labour came to power, and in spite of an endless number of initiatives aimed at addressing the problem, there has been a 44 per cent rise in truancy, with this region far above the national average.

The parents of the most persistent truants have been threatened, fined and even jailed, yet still the problem continues to grow. And nor is it merely a case of children's education suffering. For all the evidence suggests a strong link between truancy and later criminal behaviour. It also, unsurprisingly, shows that those children who stay away from school are also those who find themselves as young adults without any employment or training.

It is no coincidence that areas with a high level of truancy are also those with high levels of youth unemployment and anti-social behaviour.

It is also a fact that truancy is most common among those with the lowest literacy levels. In other words, teach pupils properly and make schools more effective and the incentive to skip classes will be less.

Easier said than done, of course, but if anything is certain, it is that this Government has had far too many chances to put things right.