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Foreword by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment
Truancy blights children's prospects, both at school and in later life. There is a strong correlation between poor attendance and low attainment. Pupils who fail to attend school regularly find it hard to keep up with lessons and to develop the qualities needed for working life. Staying away from school without good reason can also lead to young people drifting into anti-social and, in some cases, criminal behaviour.
Promoting regular attendance is therefore an issue of concern for the whole community. It is important that we have some measure of the scale of the problem nationally and these tables help to provide that. They are designed to focus attention on the problem of absenteeism and to stimulate action where it is most needed. Much useful work is being done at the local level by schools and LEAs to combat truancy, and the Government is giving priority to support for successful schemes and wider dissemination of good practice.
Rt Hon David Blunkett MP
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