SCHOOLS have been urged to do more to clamp down on truancy after new figures showed the region has more than 30,000 regular absentees.

According to the Department for Education, 8.4 per cent of primary and secondary pupils in the North- East are now classified as persistent absentees – the highest percentage in the country.

In North Yorkshire, the figure is 6.2 per cent, which is below the national average of 7.2 per cent.

The highest absenteeism rate in the region was recorded in Newcastle – 10.5 per cent – closely followed by Middlesbrough at 9.9 per cent.

Redcar and Cleveland at 7.0 per cent and Darlington at 7.3 per cent had the best figures in the North-East.

Children are now deemed to be persistent absentees if they miss 15 per cent or more of school time. The threshold has been lowered this year from 20 per cent.

Nationally, 450,330 children are classified as persistent absentees.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “These figures reveal the worrying extent of absenteeism in our schools. It is unacceptable that more than 450,000 pupils are missing the equivalent of a month of lessons a year. Even one day missed without very good reason is one too many.

“Children who are absent for substantial parts of their education fall behind and struggle to catch up.

“By lowering the threshold, we are encouraging schools to crack down on absence before the problem escalates.” Vince Allen, National Union of Teachers regional officer, said the North-East historically had a poor record of truancy, which he believed reflected young people’s perceptions of their chance at entering the employment market once they had finished education.

He added: “Can something be done in the short-term to tackle the problem?

“I’m not sure that with the budget cuts faced by local authorities, they are able to channel more resources to collaboratively working with parents to get to the route of the problem.”

Experts say much of the work missed when pupils are off school is never made up and that there is evidence of a link between poor attendance and low levels of achievement.