Truancy rates still rising, says leaked report

The number of pupils "bunking off" school has increased despite a range of efforts by ministers to get them back into classes.

More pupils say they have truanted, despite a government drive which this year saw the introduction of on-the-spot fines and fast-track prosecution of parents, according to the leaked report from the Youth Justice Board.

The document contains the findings of a Mori poll of 4,715 youngsters aged 11-16 in 192 schools, according to the Independent newspaper. As well as the rise in truancy, it reveals that more and more pupils are reporting becoming victims of crime.

The percentage of pupils who admitted bunking off in the last year has risen from 22% in 2003 and 2002 to 26% this year, according to the report. Boys and girls were equally likely to truant, but young offenders were far more likely to truant than others - 45% compared with 18%.

The report also linked truancy to an increased likelihood of drug-taking. The Independent quoted it as saying: "Drug-taking among young people is also linked to truanting from school, as young people who have ever played truant from school are considerably more likely to say they have used drugs or alcohol."

Most first-time offenders are truanting when the offence takes place, and if a child has not broken the law by the age of 14, they are less likely to start. Dodging fares, shoplifting or vandalism, including graffiti, were the most likely first-time crimes.

Nearly half - 49% - said they had been a victim of crime in the last year - up from 46% last year. The most common complaints were of being threatened, bullied or having had property stolen.

A DfES spokesperson said the department would not comment on a leaked report, but insisted its "balanced approach between support and sanctions" for parents of persistent truants was delivering "positive results".

The spokesperson added: "Since last year, the equivalent of an entire secondary school is back in school each day, every day, and secondary school attendance rates overall have improved since last year in 133 of the 150 local education authorities."

In the past two years the government has introduced on-the-spot ?100 fines for parents of truants and fast-tracked court action for parents of those who persistently fail to attend classes. City centre sweeps to pick up children who should be in schools have also been introduced across the country. However, a survey at the beginning of this year - when the fines were introduced - revealed that only one in ten headteachers planned to use their new powers to fine parents for fear of alienating them from the system.

John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said: "The link between drugs and crime is a serious issue - tobacco and drinking has gone up but the levelling off of drug-taking is to be welcomed. But lots of schools are still struggling with the impact of drugs.

"Teachers often have an ambivalent approach to truancy because it can be good to be able to get on with teaching. School can't really sort out drugs and crime. If there's anything that comes out of the children's bill, it's got to be to help schools deal with this problem."

A spokesperson for the Youth Justice Board refused to comment on the report, which it produces annually. It will be published in full in July as planned.

Last week, following the publication of the latest truancy figures, Rod Morgan, chair of the Youth Justice Board, said: "We know that children excluded from school are much more likely to commit crime and anti-social behaviour. But we also know that teachers cannot be expected to put up with poor behaviour and disruption in the classroom. The Youth Justice Board is working with partners, including the Department for Education and Skills, to develop initiatives that can improve pupil behaviour, and consequently reduce the need to exclude children."