Truancy and under-achievement emerged as the main problems in Bradford schools as the Government published its annual league tables. The authority had the sixth worst truancy rates in the country last year which, with 14th worst GCSE results, paints a grim picture. Education Reporter Lyn Barton looks at what is being done to give tackle the problems.

BUILDING UP attendance is child's play at one Bradford school where the whole matter is literally a game.

A pioneering project at Horton Park First School is bringing parents through the school gates for the first time to get across the message that good attendance is a family matter.

Parents Together is the scheme run by the council's Improving Behaviour and Attendance Unit at the school and it has already scored a success by helping to improve attendance by seven per cent.

"It is vital to get parents on board if we want to improve attendance, especially for the younger children who cannot get to school by themselves," said Chris Wybranska, an education social worker who with colleague Moira Atkinson has been working at Horton Park First.

The scheme is a first in Bradford and the team invited parents to participate in a 12 week project to help children understand what is and is not acceptable reasons for staying away from class.

They put their heads together and came up with the novel idea of turning attendance into a big board game.

Lynda Hobson, whose children Jemma and Martyn started at Horton Park in September, explained the game is like Snakes and Ladders, with the huge six feet by six feet board split into squares and classes split into teams.

One team captain acts as a 'counter' moving along the board as the rest of the team roll a big, fluffy dice. As the counter lands on the square, so the team have to answer challenging questions.

"We ask them about what are good reasons to be off school.

"The children have to work on their answers together and if they say something like 'Because the weather is bad' they have to have another go.

"Some of the questions are very serious, but we have put some funny ones in just to lighten the mood," said Mr Hobson, of Tees Road, Canterbury.

Parents Together played their first game yesterday and said it had been a great success.

"The children really loved it and I think it did make them think about attendance."

Sarah Dawson, headteacher of Horton Park First for the last 18 months, said it was the latest in a number of schemes to encourage attendance. In the past, attendance had slipped to 86 per cent, however now it was sailing high at 93 per cent.

Children who have perfect attendance are rewarded with special certificates and Bullman, the mascot of the Bradford Bulls pays regular visits to the school in Dawnay Road.

A child with 100 per cent attendance at the end of the year is also invited to bring their family into school to have a professional photograph taken to mark the occasion.

"We are trying to say that attendance is a family issue and that is why we are trying to involve the whole family."

How helpful are league tables?

The link between truancy and poor exam results is set to be brought bluntly home to children at Buttershaw Upper School.

Only 12 per cent of pupils at the school got five or more A*-C GCSEs and the school featured on lists for the worst 200 schools in terms of GCSE results and truancy rates published yesterday.

But head John Hull says matters are in hand to improve both scores with a scheme he believes is a first in Bradford. Lists are to go up on each classroom detailing academic achievement against attendance.

Other measures already under way are homework revision clubs and a mentoring schemes which identifies potentially under-performing children and helps them get back on track.

At Bowling Community College, where nine per cent of pupils got five or more grade A*-C at GCSE also featured in both of the worst 200 lists, schemes to improve results and attendance had been paying dividends, says head Glynis Gower. Re-orientating courses to be more vocational, chasing absent students from the very moment they failed to arrive all played their part.

League tables simply demonstrate the link between schools with good results and their location in affluent parts of the district, says one Bradford head teacher.

Bruce Berry, whose Belle Vue Boys' School, featured at 136 in the list of England's 200 schools with the worst GCSE results said: "The tables are absolutely meaningless, all they do is take the raw GCSE scores - they do not attempt to look at improvement. The league tables show a correlation between schools with good students and the more affluent areas of town."

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