Children who skip school are increasingly on family holidays, government…

Children who skip school are increasingly on family holidays, government figures revealed today. Fewer children played 1 this spring term compared with the spring term last year. Children missed 3m unauthorised days of school last term, compared with 3.7m days of school in the same period last year. But a hardcore group of truants - 6% of the school 2 - who account for more than three-quarters of all those on unauthorised absence, are more likely to be on a family holiday than they were in the same period last year. Some 1.2% of all absence was for family holidays not agreed by their school the last term, compared with 0.9% for the 3 term last year. More than 60% of all absences were for illness, the same figure as last year. The children's minister, Kevin Brennan, said: "Overall absence is at a record low, having continued its downward trend over the past decade." The Conservatives' shadow school minister, Nick Gibb, 4 the government of failing a target it set in 1998 to reduce school truancies by a third.