WIREDGOV

An Assembly report, published today by the Public Accounts Committee, has found that the Education Welfare Service (EWS) is not on top of the problem of non-attendance at school.

The Report found that 16,000 pupils here miss almost six weeks of school, yet schools had not made referrals to the Education Welfare Service for support. The Report also found that the local unauthorised absence record was double that reported in England. There were particular problems for the most vulnerable young people, including pupils from social deprived backgrounds, Traveller children and children in care.

Chairperson of the Committee, Michaela Boyle MLA said: "Education is crucial for our young people and we are very concerned that they are not taking advantage of their opportunities. We know that there are complex reasons why a child might be absent from school and it is important that the education system gets to grips with tackling these issues. This is the only way that the system will manage to break the vicious cycle of underachievement of the most vulnerable groups of our society."

The Report found that many of those who miss school are not contacted by the EWS and therefore do not get the help they need to return to education. The Report recommends that the EWS put into place a mechanism to identify pupils requiring help at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Chairperson concluded: "The Committee accepts that there is no simple solution to resolving these issues. However, our Report found that there were examples of schools that have managed to deal with the issue of non-attendance through collaboration with parents and communities, despite very challenging circumstances.

"We believe that more can be done through better collaboration and the development of a coherent attendance strategy. These mechanisms should be put into place urgently."

Notes to Editors:

1. The Committee report, entitled Improving Pupil Attendance: Follow-Up Report, is based on attendance statistics for 2011/12 collected from all schools via the school census in October each year.
2. Overall, pupil attendance has improved marginally since statistics were first collated in 2007-08; however, it is concerning that the level of unauthorised absence has increased from 27% in 2007-08 to 33% in 2011-12 and is double that reported in England. The annual cost of this lost education is estimated to be in the region of £22 million.
3. The Education Welfare Service is a specialist education support service which seeks to help young people of compulsory school age and their families get the best out of the education system. The service is provided by the Education and Library Boards and it employs 134 Education Welfare Officers at a cost of £8.8 million each year. A school should refer a pupil to the EWS when a pupil’s attendance is cause for concern or when attendance drops below 85%, if appropriate.