Shops sign up to truants crackdown

truancy officers will launch a scheme with shopkeepers in a large shopping centre later this week which will encourage workers to refuse to serve children who should be in school.

By The Newsroom

Published 28th Nov 2011, 09:21 BST

Doncaster Council, which has had a persistent problem with pupils skipping lessons, hopes that shop staff will also report truants to them so they can be tracked down and sent back to take part in classes.

Government figures release earlier this year showed that Doncaster had more than one in 20 pupils missing a fifth of their education so far this year – figures as bad as Leeds and Bradford.

Police officers will also be involved in the Doncaster scheme and a spokesman said: “Police and the council are linking with the shops at the Frenchgate Centre to make it harder for youngsters to bunk off school, by introducing a new initiative called Truancy Watch.

“Truancy Watch will enable staff inthe shopsto refuse to serve anybody between the ages of five and 16 during school hours in school term time. They can also call a hotline number and report the truants to truancy officers.”

The scheme will be launched on Thursday.