Shock figures reveal 13,000 school days lost in Merton this year (From Kingston Guardian)

Shock figures reveal 13,000 school days lost in Merton this year

10:00am Thursday 29th July 2010

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(1)

Parents who take their children out of school to go on holiday have been warned they could face a fine or a court appearance, after shock figures revealed more than 13,000 school days were lost in Merton this academic year.

The data revealed a huge gap in the level of holiday absence at different schools, leading Merton Council’s schools director to respond to the council and teachers to take action to reduce the problem.

If parents do not pay a £50 penalty fine they could face a court appearance and fines of up to £2,500 for taking their children out of school without permission.

The 13,000 lost day figure – which does not include the second half of the summer term, when large numbers of families were expected to head for beaches abroad – was released on Tuesday, days after most schools broke up, following a Freedom of Information request by the Wimbledon Guardian.

It includes totals for holiday absences in the autumn, spring and first half of the summer terms this year at most borough schools.

The highest of the two-term primary totals include 438 days lost at 491-pupil Poplar Primary School in Merton Park – more than double the 190 lost at nearby Rutlish School, which has twice the pupil numbers.

The figures also revealed a huge gap between different secondary schools – pupils at Ricards Lodge School in Wimbledon took 626 days, but at Bishopsford Arts College in Morden the figure was just 273.

The worst affected primaries included Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon’s Bishop Gilpin, where an average of 0.86 and 0.84 days were lost per pupil respectively over the period.

Among the least affected were Benedict in Mitcham (0.34) and Morden Primary (0.41).

This year’s two-and-a-half term borough-wide total of 13,041 is lower than last year’s total of 14,926 and the 2007-2008 figure of 16,216.

Yvette Stanley, the council’s director of children, schools and families, said schools and the council had identified and targeted children and families at risk of low attendance and improved tracking, monitoring and intervention.

Last month teaching organisations called for parents to avoid term-time holidays. Chris Harrison, vice president of the National Union of Headteachers, said: “Little and often for a child is really important. All the evidence says that missing two to three weeks of schooling can make a marked difference.”

A council spokeswoman added many schools were no longer authorising term-time holidays and unauthorised absence could lead to a penalty notice.

Click here to view or download the full list of figures

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(1)