School absence rates better than UK

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Jersey pupils are taking less unauthorised absences from school than kids in the UK.

Unauthorised absence rates – which cover truancy and holidays that have not been approved by the school - at Jersey secondary schools are under the UK averages for both primary and secondary pupils, according to figures released to Bailiwick Express under the Freedom of Information law.

The figures show that the worst performing secondary school is Haute Vallée, where unauthorised absences accounted for 3,992 half-day sessions in the last academic year, or 1.75% of all school time. By contrast, the top performer was Hautlieu, where only 71 half-day sessions – or just 0.08% of the total – were missed.

The total figures in secondary schools showed that the school unauthorised absence rate was 1.07%, which is better than the UK rate of 1.2%.

In the UK, new laws mean that unauthorised absences can lead to parents being hit with fines of £60, rising to £120 if they are not paid within seven days. Parents who refuse to pay can be forced to attend parenting classes or face jail.

The new law has led to an all-round drop in absence rates.

Back in Jersey, the figure show that Grainville has had real success in tackling unauthorised absences, the figures show that the problem has got worse at Haute Vallée and Les Quennevais.

Grainville’s stats show a major reduction down from 2.55% to 1.75% of schooltime lost down to unauthorised absences over the last five years, whereas at Les Quennevais the figures have climbed from 0.57% to 1.44%. 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story included two errors in the calculations and the statistics, for which we apologise.