Don't fall into the truancy trap

The six-week Truancy Trap campaign has been launched by the council's Education Welfare Service as part of its on-going work tackling truancy by targeting both school pupils and their parents.

The campaign, first run three-years-ago, features a series of "Don't fall into the truancy trap" posters which will be displayed in McDonalds Restaurants across the county, and a series of themed radio advertisements which will run on Southern FM.

Cllr Rupert Simmons, Lead Cabinet Member for Learning and School Effectiveness said: "We have seen a marked improvement in attendance levels in our schools and that is thanks to campaigns like this and the work of the Education Welfare Service. However, we are determined to be proactive on this issue and reduce absence from our schools still further."

The campaign will target young people themselves and will stress again the damaging effect that truancy has on education, learning and future life chances. But it will also target parents, reminding them of their responsibility to ensure their children attend school.

The scheme is part of the successful on-going work in the county's schools. Figures show that between 2001 and 2006 there was an improvement of nearly 3% in school attendance in the county and East Sussex rates in the top 20 local authorities.

The Truancy Trap campaign will go hand in hand with work already being done by Education Welfare Officers across the county, which include the "Get Smart" initiative in secondary schools and "Cool Cats" in primary schools.