Truancy and exclusion

School's out?: Truancy and exclusion

Emilie Goodall

September 2005, 68 pages

Despite more than one billion pounds having been spent on anti-truancy initiatives by the government, 2007 figures show over 200,000 pupils play truant from secondary school at least one day of every week.

NPC's report examines the twin problems of truancy and exclusion. The report looks at why some children are more at risk of truanting or being excluded than others, and outlines how charities are filling the gap where government is failing.

Did you know?

• Around one pupil in every 1,000 is permanently excluded from school every year in the UK
• Nearly three-quarters of young offenders were excluded or truanted regularly.

The report highlights areas where donors can create the biggest impact, including:

• early prevention work to tackle the causes of truancy and exclusion
• advising parents whose children are at risk or expulsion or skipping school, or who have already been expelled
• helping children, either in or out of school, to stay engaged with learning, or to cope with issues like drug abuse and housing problems.

For more information on calculating and cutting the costs of truancy and exclusion read our associated report, Misspent Youth.