IF they are not in school, they’re not learning.

Civic chiefs are hoping to send that clear message to parents and carers in a bid to get fewer Southampton children missing lessons.

As unofficial figures for last term suggest attendance is improving in both primary and secondary schools compared to last year, the city council has launched a poster campaign aimed at reducing truancy further to help improve exam results.

Although they are falling, absence rates in Southampton’s primary and secondary schools are significantly above the national average.

But with research showing that missing just two per cent of lessons can cause a one-grade drop in GCSE results, education bosses want to hammer home the message that it is vital for children’s prospects that they go to school.

Unauthorised absence rates at city secondary schools are more than double the national average, and almost 70 per cent higher at primary school level, and a wide variety of punishments and rewards have been used to try to ensure youngsters attend classes.

The council has already brought 30 prosecutions against parents this academic year for regularly failing to get their children to go to lessons, while some schools have previously offered kids the chance to win amusement park tickets or a family curry if they achieve 100 per cent attendance.

Posters are now springing up on billboards and in schools around Southampton, reminding parents of their responsibilities and the impact truanting can have.

City council education chief Cllr Paul Holmes said: “Regular attendance is directly linked to good exam results.

“The more time a pupil spends in class the more likely they are to acquire the knowledge and understanding they need to get the grades they need, gain employment, develop life skills and build a bright future.”

The posters urge parents to avoid taking children on holiday during term time, not to let kids have days off unnecessarily because of minor illnesses, and even discourage arranging dentist or doctor trips during the school day.

Unverified figures for the 2010 autumn term suggest 5.8 per cent of lessons in Southampton primary school were missed. The rate in secondary schools was 7.5 per cent.

As reported, the latest official absence figures showed that during the 2009 autumn term and 2010 spring term the absence levels in secondary schools was 8.42 per cent.

Although that was down from 9.2 per cent, it was still well above the English average of 6.84 per cent.

At primary schools, the 5.91 per cent absence in Southampton was slightly down on the previous year, but still above the national average of 5.34 per cent.