Absentee pupils targeted in truancy campaign
Absentee pupils have been targeted during a month-long campaign by officials at a South Yorkshire council.
Home visits and the issuing of fixed penalty notices have been used by officials in Doncaster.
During the crackdown pupils with less than 90% attendance at primary school or 85% in secondary schools found officials at their home.
Two thousand visits were carried out and 159 fixed penalty notices handed to families who ignored warnings.
Following the visits officials said that 71% of those spoken to had improved their children's attendance at school.
Doncaster Council's director of the Children and Young People's Service, Chris Pratt, said: "The efforts and success of this campaign send out a firm message that persistent absence will not go unnoticed."
Families who do not make improvements to their child's school attendance are at risk of being issued with a £50 fixed penalty notice.