Wakey, wakey: School arranges 7.30am calls to get persistent truants out of their beds

Up to 100 children a day are receiving alarm calls in an attempt to combat persistent truancy at a comprehensive.

The local council hired a private firm to take over the role of parents and remind the children with the phone calls that they need to prepare for class.

The pilot scheme at Clifton Community Arts School, in Rotherham, is the latest in a series of initiatives locally and nationally to cut truancy.

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Latest official figures show that 60,000-plus pupils nationwide skip lessons every day, the highest for ten years.

The cost of the alarm call scheme, which started in September, has not been disclosed.

In a council report this week, director of inclusion Tom Kelly said follow-up calls are made to parents if the pupils fail to show up on time.

Clifton has been classed as a "persistent absentee school", where at least 9 per cent of pupils miss one day or more out of five.

A spokesman for Rotherham Council said no figures were yet available but initial feedback suggested the calls had been "very good in improving attendance".

He added: "We are trialling it to see if it is any use and cost-effective.

"The headteacher says it seems to be having an effect, although they are taking other steps to deal with truancy as well.

"If we didn't ring these truants up, it could cost the council even more in time and money chasing them.

"The school simply cannot spare any teachers to make these early morning calls, that is why a private company is involved."

Rotherham has a truancy rate of 2.1 per cent of registration sessions missed compared to the national average of 1.3 per cent.

Local councillor Tony Mannion, an independent, said: "It's appalling that parents don't ensure their children go to school.

"It is something that parents should do. I would like to know the cost of this scheme to the taxpayer and how effective it has been."

Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "This is really a matter for the parents.

"There should be consequences for pupils truanting and they get away with it because there is no serious punishment.

"It seems wrong that taxpayers should have to cough up extra money to sort them out."

He added that truants could simply refuse to respond to the calls.

Other measures tried by education chiefs nationally include sweeps of town centres to round up absentee pupils and text messages to parents whose children fail to turn up.

Schools can fine parents for failing to ensure their children attend school while councils can put parents on a "fast track" to prosecution if pupils repeatedly fail to turn up.