Region’s schools shown to have worst truancy rate in country

Rising numbers of pupils were playing truant or being taken out of school without permission both in Yorkshire and across the country in the last academic year.

Figures also show Hull schools have one of the worst attendance records of any of England’s 150 council areas.

The Department for Education (DfE) published statistics yesterday showing the number of half-days missed by pupils in the 2010/11 academic year.

The truancy rate in the region was 1.3 per cent, up slightly on last year’s 1.26 per cent and higher than any other Government region in the country.

Nationally it increased to 1.1 per cent, up from one per cent the year before. Around 62,000 youngsters in primary, secondary and special schools across England missed sessions without permission on a typical day last year, through truancy, family holidays and other reasons.

Almost 400,000 were classed as persistently absent from school last year under tougher new rules.

Previously pupils were classed as being persistent absentees if they missed a fifth or more of their education – the equivalent of a one day a week.

Now children are put in this category if they miss 15 per cent of lessons – just under six weeks of an academic year. In Yorkshire there were 44,550 persistent absentees last year – 6.7 per cent of pupils.