Council guides truants back to school

WARRINGTON is achieving a 75 per cent success rate in directing hard-core truants back into education – and the figure has impressed a local campaigner.
John Mulhall has welcomed the figures, provided by the borough council’s head of service for improvement and inclusion, Pinaki Ghoshal.
But at the same time he has sounded a warning that council officers should not take their eyes of the issue.
He describes the 75 per cent success rate as “a massive improvement”.
Mr Mulhall believes there is a direct link between truancy levels among older teenagers and the anti-social behaviour that has dogged Warrington in recent times.
He claims to have been asking the council questions about truancy levels for six years.
Now Mr Ghoshal, using the most up-to-date annual figures from the education welfare service, saus the borough has about a 75 per cent success rate regarding prosecution cases for non-attendance.
He said: “What this means is that when a case of non-attendance reaches the stage where the education welfare service becomes involved, with a view to prosecuting the parents, 75 per cent of all cases improve and are withdrawn from the process as a result of the local authority and school level intervention that is offered.
“It would be reasonable to sugges that the cases that reach the stage of prosecution are those who have become what Mr Mulhall refers to as ‘hard core’ truants.”
Mr Ghoshal says the Warrington figure is in line with the national success rate.
Mr Mulhall said: “I very much welcome these figures although, of course, 75 per cent is not good enough. We should be aiming for 100 per cent.
“I hope the officers will not take their eyes of this matter because I think the improved success rate should lead to a better society in due course.
“I would still like to know if truants in the 16-19 age group are offered vocational training and, if so, what courses and subjects they are offered.”