TRUANCY rates have hit a ten-year high with more than 55,000 pupils a day skipping school . Among the worst offenders are academies, where in some cases truancy is running at more than five times the national average for secondary schools of 1.3 per cent.
A report published today by the public accounts committee urges schools to install electronic registration systems and offer relevant vocational courses to help to reintegrate persistant truants.
Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the committee, said: “The Department for Education and Skills looks to be losing ground in its battle against truancy.”