Sweep nets 34 truants in Wythenshawe
24 March 2010
A recent truancy sweep in Wythenshawe caught 34 pupils who were out of school without a valid reason.
The one day sweep saw attendance staff patrol the streets with uniformed police officers, stopping and questioning any school aged children and young people.
71 young people in total were stopped during the day by officers, and of them 34 were found to be absent from school without authorisation. 25 of those stopped without a valid reason were secondary school aged pupils and 9 of those stopped without a valid reason were primary school aged pupils.
The one day sweep in Wythenshawe took place as part of the Council's crackdown on truancy which is part of a bid to cut down on the high numbers of school days lost each week in the city through unauthorised absence.
The crackdown has seen sweeps in other parts of the city, as well as a programme of truancy blitzes where attendance officers go out to the homes of pupils who are absent from school and knock on their doors to talk to parents about their child's absence from school.
Legal action including fines and court appearances for parents who do not ensure their children attend school every day they should are also included on the agenda.
Councillor Sheila Newman, Executive Member, Manchester City Council, said: "One day missed through unauthorised absence from school is one day too many. Not only does skipping school mean that pupils miss out on the important work they should be doing in the classroom, what many pupils and their parents fail to realise is that parents can be prosecuted for their child's absence from school.
"We can and do pursue those parents who persistently fail to ensure their children are in school every day they should be."
At the same time as the crackdown on truancy, the Council is also looking at ways of rewarding those pupils whose attendance at school is good. This includes an attendance reward scheme with social enterprise company Motiv which is also underway to reward pupils for 100 per cent attendance and 100 per cent effort for attendance.
