Schools to start texting truants
Dozens of schools in the Black Country will now 'text a truant' if pupils are not there when the bell rings in the latest crackdown on students who persistently skip lessons.
The schools have been named and shamed in a list of 400 across the country by the Department for Education and Skills as having the highest number of serial truants on their books.
The 29 schools in the region, which include 13 in Sandwell, six in Wolverhampton and five each in Dudley and Walsall, will have computerised registrations which means that by 9.05am a central computer will know which children are missing and automatically send a text alert to either the parent or truant.
If there is no response, then the system will call the family home to inform parents of the pupil's absence. Parents will not be forced to supply mobile phone numbers, but a DfES spokesman said the service was expected to be popular.
The move comes as latest figures show some pupils in the Black Country are almost twice as likely to skip class than others across England. According to figures for 2005/06 released yesterday, truancy rates are higher than ministers expected.
They revealed children from poorer families were far more likely to skip class than others and that persistent truanting among pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds in general was "significantly below" the rate for white British students.
The data showed there were 4,597 serial truants in Birmingham, 1,518 in Dudley, 2,127 in Sandwell, 1,373 in Walsall and 1,203 in Wolverhampton.
The figure was 2,911 for Staffordshire, while in Shropshire the total was 1,743.
Shadow education minister Nick Gibb said: "Of course parents must be informed if their child is unexpectedly absent from school and using text messages might help achieve that."
Schools with the worst truancy rate:
Dudley: Castle High School and Visual Arts College; Pedmore Technology College and Community School; Pensnett School of Technology; Ridgewood High School; The Coseley School
Sandwell: Alexandra High School and Sixth Form Centre; Bristnall Hall Technology College; Dartmouth High School; George Salter High School; Holly Lodge High School College of Science; Manor High School; Menzies High School; Shireland Language College; St Michael's CofE High School; Tividale Community Arts College; Warley High College of Sport; Willingsworth High School
Walsall: Brownhills Community Technology College; Darlaston Community Science College; Shelfield Sports and Community College; Sneyd Community School; Willenhall School Sports College
Wolverhampton: Colton Hills Community School; Deansfield High School; Moreton Community School; Moseley Park School; Pendeford Business and Enterprise College; Wednesfield High School
