Facts and figures on truancy

Absence from school is measured in England under different headings.

There are authorised absences - such as illness and holidays agreed by head teachers. But what is usually associated with truancy is an "unauthorised absence", where a child is missing lessons without permission.

It is this unauthorised rate - the yellow line in the graph above - which was the target for the government to reduce.

The graph shows that the pressure on parents to reduce authorised absences - such as term-time holidays - has been successful, which in turn has lowered the overall absence.

However the unauthorised rate - showing the pupils who were the original cause for concern - has risen rather than fallen.

In response, there has been a steady increase in proceedings taken against parents because of their children's truancy.

There was also a change in the way that the data was collected and reported from 2005-06.