On an average day in Clondalkin one in three of the school desks are empty

Up to one-third of the school-going population in Clondalkin, Dublin, is absent from school at any given time, according to a report prepared by the Clondalkin Partnership. The report, which will be launched on Thursday by the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, highlights the fact that there is no effective school attendance service in Dublin outside the metropolitan area.

It calls for the setting up an education and welfare service for the Clondalkin area with a school-based service for regular absentees and a non-school based unit to address the needs of the chronic absentees group. Chronic absentees are defined as having less than 50 per cent attendance, while regular absentees attend school between 50 and 79 per cent of the time. The report does not include Travellers, who are the subject of a separate study.

A total of 135 pupils in six schools were interviewed with the focus on three groups - second class, fifth class and first year in second level. There were striking differences in the attitudes and experience of the three groups.

In second class, where children have an average age of seven to eight, most responded positively to school. By fifth class, average age 11, some children had begun to become truant, leaving home for school but not going in. This age group is more critical of school, citing homework, Irish, dislike of the teacher and bullying as negative factors.

The report acknowledges that school-related factors do contribute to absenteeism but says that home factors, such as unemployment, addiction and prison, are pivotal.

Positive features identified by the fifth class students were good teachers, practical subjects, and, surprisingly, maths.

Of the first-year sample, average age 12, one quarter are absentees. "While home factors again show the familiar pattern of unemployment and single parenthood, at this stage a major element in absenteeism is parents' willingness to keep children at home for family duties and to excuse them from homework." Positive factors identified included practical subjects, good teachers, mentor systems and rewards.

A total of 32 school personnel - teachers, principals and home-school liaison co-ordinators - were interviewed. They point to unemployment, poverty and low parental self-esteem as reasons for non-attendance, while acknowledging the fact that the academic content and organisational structures of school do not meet the needs of poor and disadvantaged pupils. Small scale interventions had been tried and succeeded but funds ran out. Extra resources and specialist interventions are needed, according to school staff.

Of the two fathers and 68 mothers interviewed, most are unemployed. None had a Leaving Cert and only six per cent had an Intermediate Cert. Parents are much more positive about primary than post-primary school. They all want their children to find work and nine out of 10 agree that education is the key but only a minority perceive the link between regular attendance and educational achievement.

The four youth and community workers who took part in the study say that poor pupil-teacher relationships and existing disciplinary structures contribute to absenteeism but all agree that a problematic home environment is the main factor.

THE study recommends that all agencies in the area engage in a co-ordinated approach and that an educational welfare service be set up for Clondalkin. The service should liaise with parents, schools, specialist agencies and the courts with the aim being "to ensure that services are delivered to the child rather than the child to the services." Specialist programmes such as Early Start Breaking the Cycle should also be extended.

Other recommendations include a bridging year to ease transition to second-level school; increased support for marginalised parents with more rescources for home-school coordinators and a pre-Youthreach centre to be set up in north Clondalkin for under-15s.

Two priority groups are identified. The first are the chronic absentees who have "dire home circumstances, frequently truant and are unable to read or engage with the curricula." The second group are the regular chronic absentees who have stressed home circumstances, poor literacy skills and an inability to engage with curricula. Specific interventions are recommended for these groups with early identification being vital.