This paper reflects upon a career of 40 years involving teaching and research into the causes and solutions for school absenteeism and truancy. It includes insights into both professional and empirical work and notes how the subject has become increasingly "politicised" over the last 25-30 years by governments of both persuasions: Left and Right.…

This paper has been written specifically from two perspectives. First, because of the research and professional activity carried out by the author in the field for over forty years. Second, as a consequence of the author chairing the National Behaviour and Attendance Review (NBAR) in Wales and writing the subsequent Report (NBAR 2008), as well as…

This paper presents new evidence obtained from an empirical study which used three distinct groups of professionals engaged in the attempt to "brainstorm" reasons for pupils' non-attendance. The evidence suggests that the "causes" of pupils' non-attendance can be sub-divided into three main fields: pupils who dislike coming to…

This is the first article to analyse and evaluate Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) reports on attendance issues within local authorities. A full cohort of Ofsted reports on local education authorities (LEAs) undertaken in 2003 in England were read, evaluated and used in the preparation of this article. The reports show that most LEAs…

This article focuses on recent developments to find strategic solutions to the problem of truancy. It considers issues related to defining truancy and why reducing truancy matters before considering what causes truancy. The article concentrates upon seven areas where further work is needed: the role of parents (and carers); early intervention,…

This article examines the views of 88 learning mentors about their understanding of the management of school attendance. The data were obtained from a questionnaire that was completed in 2004 by the learning school mentors attending a conference on improving school attendance. Respondents attended from Excellence in Cites (EiC) and Education…

The only major review of the education welfare service (EWS) took place in 1973 when the role and responsibilities of the service were very different from those of today. Recent legislative changes, the influence of the Children Act 2004 and revised public needs of the service, including new multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary frameworks,…

This article presents the methodology and findings on school attendance obtained over two years from 2006 for the National Behaviour and Attendance Review in Wales. The review was led and chaired by the author and the report was presented to the Minister for Children, Lifelong Learning and Skills and the Welsh Assembly Government in May 2008. The…

This article considers the implementation of a long-term strategic approach to combat truancy and other forms of non-attendance. The scheme considered is the Secondary School Three Group (SSTG) scheme which utilises a panel-based approach. Details of how to apply and set up the scheme including the use of the governors' attendance panel,…

This paper presents the findings obtained from a detailed questionnaire completed by selected head teachers (n = 129), deputy heads (n = 81), middle managers (n = 178) and form tutors (n = 91) in schools within local education authorities located throughout England and Wales. The questionnaire focused upon the respondents' views on the best ways…

This book offers guidance on dealing with the problem of truancy and non-attendance. It provides examples of the latest ways that schools, teachers, education welfare officers, and local education authorities in the United Kingdom have worked to overcome their attendance problems, identifying 120 short-term solutions and several long-term…

This article presents an up-to-date synthesis and review of recent research in the field of school absenteeism and truancy. Topics covered include: definitional issues; the Ofsted position; the LEA perspective; the causes of non-attendance and truancy; the role of parents; the link between truancy and crime; out-of-school provision; current…

This article focuses on the response from a specially constructed questionnaire which was completed by 431 education social workers/education welfare officers located throughout England and Wales in 2005. The findings are supported by interview data obtained from fifty-nine education social workers/education welfare officers in selected local…

This is the first article to evaluate OfSTED reports on the management of attendance within secondary schools. Two hundred and twenty-seven OfSTED reports undertaken on secondary schools inspected during 2003 were scrutinised. These data were broken down and analysed using four distinct areas for investigation. These were: statistical data;…

Presents the institutional factors related to persistent school absenteeism uncovered in a small-scale study conducted in industrial South Wales. (MD)