A crackdown is planned on parents of skiving pupils in Worcestershire in a bid to reduce school absences.

Latest figures have shown that as many as 2,000 schoolchildren in the county skipped 20 per cent of classes last year.

The figures for secondary schools show that five per cent of pupils, just over 1,500, attended school only 80 per cent of the time or less. This was below the national average of 5.8 per cent and the regional figure of 5.5 per cent. Education chiefs have said they are “working hard to improve figures of persistent absentees”.

Primary school absences saw more than 500 pupils with attendances of only 80 per cent or below, the equivalent of the regional average of 1.8 per cent.

Steve Wilkinson, Worcestershire County Council’s Principal Education Welfare Officer said: “We take truancy in our schools extremely seriously and the necessary action will be taken if we find children are not in school for a prolonged period of time without a legitimate reason.”