FOI

 

​​​​Request

A.

Please can you provide a school year by school year breakdown of truancy in each of the Island's schools for the past three years. That should include the total number of pupils truant in each school, and the total number of days each of those pupils was truant.

B.

Additionally, please could you offer a commentary of action taken to reduce truancy, including, for example, the intervention of outside agencies to force parents to bring their child to school.

Response

A.

From data held within the schools management information system, it isn't possible to determine the number of sessions missed due to ‘truancy’ per se. 

However, it is possible to report on the number of sessions missed due to ‘unauthorised absence’.

Unauthorised absence include:

• family holidays (NOT agreed or days in excess of agreement)
• no reason provided for absence
• late (pupils arrives after the register is closed)
• unauthorised absence (not covered by any other code / description)

The table below shows the number of half-day sessions (attendance / absence is recorded for each pupil in the morning and afternoon of school day) missed due to unauthorised absence and the total number of pupils that missed at least one session due to unauthorised absence.

The percentage of sessions missed due to unauthorised absence is also shown. 

Information is broken down by school and by academic year; 2011 / 2012 to 2013 / 2014. 

The total number of half day sessions missed due to unauthorised absence and the number of pupils with at least one unauthorised absence are not directly comparable between schools due to differences in pupil numbers. 

Therefore, the total number of pupils in each school and total number of half day sessions available are also provided for reference.

Data provided represents all pupils of compulsory school age (reception to year 11).

Not all half-day sessions missed relate to full sessions; if a pupil arrives to class late, ie after the register has closed, this is also included under unauthorised absence.

For the purposes of disclosure control, any cell that represents less than 10 pupils has been replaced with an X.

Primary schools 

 Special schools

It should be noted that due to the small number of students educated within Jersey’s special schools, there may be large fluctuations in unauthorised absence rates year on year. 

Also, attendance / absence data for Jersey’s special schools has only been made available within the last two to three years, therefore it is not possible to assure the reliability of this information.

The Alternative Curriculum is a year 11 course designed to meet the needs of those pupils who are not engaging with learning in mainstream schools.

D’Hautree House School provide education for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Mont a L’abbe School provides for children with Severe or Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.

B.

We attach [see below) the Department’s “School Attendance Policy” which provides details of the action taken in this area. 

This was also the subject of a written question to the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture in December 2014. 

Parts (a) to (d) of the answer are reproduced below. 

The link to the full answer on the States Assembly website is also included below.

(a) any legislation which applies and the powers of the Department:

Good attendance is recognised as a major factor in a child’s success in education so every effort is made by schools and ESC, working with families, to maximize attendance for every student. 

Unauthorized absence in Jersey is lower than the UK national average.

Under Article 12 of the Education (Jersey) Law 1999 parents or guardians are responsible for ensuring that any child of compulsory school age receives a full-time education. The law states:

A parent of a child of compulsory school age shall ensure that the child receives full-time education appropriate to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs the child may have, either by regular attendance at a school at which the child is a pupil or otherwise.

The law also states that a parent who fails to comply is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

Under Article 14 the ESC Minister can seek an Education Supervision Order (ESO). 

This power is delegated to the ESC Attendance Panel, which can also recommend a referral to the Parish Hall with a view to prosecution.

(b) the Department’s policy in respect of repeated and extended absences from school:

The aim of the Education Welfare Service (EWS) at Education, Sport and Culture is to prevent any absence from becoming repeated or extended where possible. Prosecution under the law is a last resort. The EWS works in close partnership with schools and families to provide support, advice and guidance to determine the appropriate action needed where concerns emerge regarding a child’s attendance. The policy and procedure for dealing with absences is as follows:

Stage 1: school monitoring

Attendance is recorded twice a day in school and reasons for absence are monitored.

Stage 2 and 3: initial assessments and multi-agency meetings

Where school strategies have been unsuccessful advice is sought from the Education Welfare Officer (EWOs) for primary schools, or Attendance Officers (AOs) in secondary schools.

Contact is made with parents / carers to establish the cause of absence. This often involves home visits to support the family and identify strategies to improve attendance. 

Where underlying problems exist, an assessment meeting is arranged and where necessary a multi-agency approach is taken to help meet the needs of the child and support the family to enable regular school attendance.

Stage 4: warning letter

If there is no significant improvement in attendance, a warning letter is sent by school to remind parents / carers of their legal responsibility to ensure their child attends school. 

If there is still no improvement, the Senior Education Welfare Officer (SEWO) will send a formal warning letter.

Stage 5: school attendance meeting

Parents / carers are invited to a meeting in school to discuss their child’s attendance and to explore ways of working together to improve the situation. 

An Individual Action Plan (IAP) may be drawn up to assist the parents and the pupil in reaching agreed targets. 

Progress will be reviewed after an agreed period of time.

Stage 6: attendance panel

If there is no significant improvement in attendance by a certain date, the IAP can be reviewed or the case can be referred to an Attendance Panel at ESC. 

The criteria for referral to a panel include:

•  sporadic attendance below the level expected for the student’s age
•  long term record of school refusal
•  where the parent / carer has not cooperated with actions designed to improve attendance
•  where poor punctuality is impacting significantly on school attendance

The panel consists of:

• ​the Senior Education Welfare Officer
• Head of Inclusion or Senior Manager from ESC
• external agency manager
• school staff 
• representatives of other departments as required
  

The parent / carer and child / children, if age appropriate, will be required to attend the Attendance Panel Meeting.

The panel has delegated powers to recommend a referral to the Parish Hall with a view to prosecution. 

It can also apply to the court for an Education Supervision Order.

(c) the number of staff directly employed in monitoring and dealing with such absence:

Primary schools: four Education Welfare Officers work with the States primary schools as well as some of the private schools and they monitor and deal with absences as part of their role. 

One of the four also supports D’Hautree House School and the Alternative Curriculum. The team is managed by the Senior Education Welfare Officer.

Secondary schools: there is an Attendance Officer in each of the four 11 to 16 schools.

(d) details of any liaison that takes place between the Department, schools, police and social workers in respect of this area:

The circumstances of each child vary and a range of professionals will be consulted according to the needs of each individual student.

There is daily contact between the department and schools. This can include headteachers, heads of year, special educational needs co-ordinators and teachers who are designated safeguarding leads.

The role of the EWOs and AOs involves a high level of interagency working including liaison with social workers where children have an assigned social worker.

The four EWOs each work with the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for a full week on a rota basis. 

This involves close liaison with all schools, colleges, police and social workers. 

More recently a community police officer has also been assigned to secondary schools.

Download written question to Minister Education Sport and Culture by Deputy Higgins 1240/5(8563) (size 256kb)

The School Attendance Policy (May 2014) is provided below.