EDUCATION bosses are taking a softer approach to tackling truancy.

The Tendring Behaviour and Attendance Partnership, which comprises all secondary schools in the district, is launching a campaign to encourage children to attend school.

The district suffers from an above-average number of pupils skipping classes.

Malcolm Bryden, Essex County Council’s school attendance improvement officer, said the campaign would focus on the fact every 17 days away from school reduces GCSE success by a grade.

The message is to be conveyed through posters and during school assemblies.

Mr Bryden said: “All schools in Tendring are persistent-absence schools, so we are working together to do something about it.

“We want this campaign to be a positive one, telling kids, by being in school, they are more likely to succeed and get good grades, rather than, if they don’t attend lessons, their parents will end up in court.”

Mr Bryden said a 90 per cent attendance is not good enough for any pupil and equates to four weeks away from school each year.

During a truancy sweep on Friday, a number of pupils who were out of class were returned to their schools to check they had the correct permission to be absent. A mother out with her child during school time was also spoken to.

Sandy Tate, vice-principal of Clacton Coastal Academy, said the school, along with others in the district, suffers from a 9 per cent absence rate, higher than the 6.3 per cent national average.

She added: “The priority for a school is not about attendance, but about giving pupils the best education we can. Attendance is one part of that.”

Mrs Tate said the school had schemes to help long-term absentees return to class, and it worked with families to ascertain reasons for absences.