THREE Croydon schools went through the 2008-09 school year without a single child being persistently absent.

If a pupil misses 52 or more half-days they are deemed to have been persistently absent.

The top performing schools were Greenvale Primary, in Sandpiper Road, Selsdon, St John's CofE Primary, in Spring Park Road, Shirley, and St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary, in Birchanger Road, South Norwood.

A school that has successfully tackled an attendance problem is often encouraged by the council to share good practice with another which is struggling.

Home visits can also be organised where an education welfare officer will talk through underlying problems with a child's parents.

The percentage of children persistently absent from Croydon primary schools decreased from 2.5 per cent in 2007-08 to 2.2 per cent in 2008-09.