Truancy sweep in Nuneaton
Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police took to the streets in Nuneaton’s Camp Hill earlier this month looking for young people out of school.
The truancy sweep was conducted on Monday 22 June; it involved stopping every young person found to be out of school, and taking their details. Some children were spotted with their parents, but were still considered to be truanting if they could not offer a sound reason for their absence from school.
During the day in Nuneaton 26 youngsters were stopped three of which had no valid reason so will be contacted again by the county council’s Education Social Work Service to tackle the problem.
Viv Sales, Principal Educational Social Worker for the council confirmed that tackling unnecessary absence from school is a high priority for Warwickshire County Council. She said: “Every day that a child is out of school is a missed opportunity and may have an impact on their education and their opportunities when they leave school.”
David Whitehouse Head of Community Protection at Warwickshire Police added: “By doing the truancy sweeps we are taking children that may be vulnerable to a place of safety and educating both them and their parents and carers about the risks involved in missing school and also their obligations under the law to attend school.”
Truancy sweeps are just one part of an overall strategy to improve school attendance, which includes awareness raising, incentive schemes, supportive interventions and legal sanctions. Each year, around 70 Warwickshire parents are issued with fixed penalty fines or prosecuted for their child’s non-attendance at school.
ENDS
For media enquiries please contact Helen List in Warwickshire County Council press office on 01926 414142.