21 September 2006
Philanthropists help get children back on track
As truancy amongst primary schoolchildren is reported today to be on the rise, clients of New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) are stepping in to support charities that tackle the underlying causes of truancy.
NPC has advised on donations of close to £1m in the year since it launching its School’s out? report. Eighty percent of the charities recommended by NPC have received significant donations.
Government initiatives have failed to crack the problems. Statistics released today by the Department for Education and Skills show that unauthorised absence in England’s primary schools has increased to record levels, and that truancy from secondary school is little changed. The shocking levels of truancy highlighted in the NPC report continue.
School’s out?, released in September 2005, noted that at least 70,000 children play truant every day across the UK.
Huge costs
There are enormous social and economic costs of truancy and exclusion. For example:
- alternative state-run education for excluded pupils costs over three times as much as normal schooling;
- persistent truants are more than four times as likely to be out of work at 18 years old than non-truants;
- persistent truants are much more likely to suffer poor mental and physical health and resort to crime;
- nearly three-quarters of young offenders are regular truants or have been excluded from school.
‘Government and the formal education system often fail disadvantaged children and our clients recognise this. For them, funding charities that are making a difference to a child’s life before it is too late, represents a sound investment’, said NPC analyst Emilie Goodall, the author of School’s out?
Excellent results
NPC's clients are funding charities achieving excellent results and addressing the underlying problems which result in truancy. The charities receiving funding include:
- Chance UK, which pairs adult mentors with around 100 vulnerable children each year in Islington and Hackney. This collaboration helps the children turn their lives around, improving their social skills, behaviour and attendance at school. One child told his mentor at the beginning of the year: ‘I don’t want to do anything when I grow up: just get a flat and sign on’. Today, he wants to study for A-levels and go to university.
- The Place2Be, a charity that helps troubled primary schoolchildren. It works in over 100 schools, providing a comprehensive service to children, parent and teachers. Support is available for all the pupils in the school, and those most in need receive professional counselling in one-to-one and group sessions. In the last year, over 21,500 children were helped.
- The Learning Challenge, which works directly with teachers and other school staff to help them manage bad behaviour at school. The training enables teachers to run group therapy sessions and drama workshops, amongst other activities. This approach has proved to be very effective in dealing with problematic behaviour, a key factor in children staying away from school. In one school for example, attendance improved for 63% of children involved in the charity's group therapy work.
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