LIVERPOOL was last night labelled one of the country’s biggest hotspots for children skipping school.
New figures published by the Department for Education show that, based on attendance in the autumn term in 2010 and spring term this year, more than one in 10 (10.7%) of Liverpool children were branded persistent truants.
The Government defines persistent absence as pupils missing 15% or more of possible school sessions, which equates to 38 or more half days. Previously, the measure was 20%.
Only Nottingham, with 11.8%, and Kingston-upon-Hull, with 10.8%, have poorer figures.
Even under the old measure, Liverpool is still ranked in the bottom three alongside Newcastle, with 5.1% of pupils missing a fifth or more of lessons.
Last night, Cllr Jane Corbett, Liverpool’s cabinet member for education said: “We will continue to tackle unauthorised absence, as we see education as the biggest indicator of a child’s life chances.
“But, although there should be high targets, this is a very simplistic measure and the Government has failed to take into account underlying health problems attached to this, which are being worsened by their actions.”
But Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “Children who are absent for substantial parts of their education fall behind and struggle to catch up.
“By lowering the threshold, we are encouraging schools to crack down on absence before the problem escalates.”
Elsewhere, 7.5% of Wirral children were branded persistent truants; 10.3% in Knowsley; 7.1% in Halton; 7.3% in Sefton; 7.6% in Cheshire West and Chester; and 6.6% in St Helens.
Nationally, 7.2% of pupils were classed as serial truants under the new measure.