166 teachers off sick every day in Kirklees

Jan 5 2009 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

NEW figures show 166 teachers are off sick in Kirklees every day.

Teachers took an average of nearly two weeks off work each over a 12-month period because of illness.

And Kirklees Council’s education chief wants parents to help bring the absence rate down by taking more responsibility for their children.

The 3,580 teachers in Kirklees schools took 32,420 days off sick during 2007 – an average of nine days each. Nearly half of the days off, some 14,320, were taken as part of long-term absences of 20 days or more.

The Government figures show that nationally teachers took an average of 5.4 days off sick in 2007, up from 5.1 in 1999.

Three million teaching days were lost to sickness last year nationwide, hitting school budgets as the minimum rate for supply teachers in 2007/08 was £103 a day.

Kirklees Council’s Cabinet member for schools Clr Jim Dodds said parents could play their part in reducing the absence rate.