Comment: What is solution to beat truancy?

THE truancy patrol our reporter joined this week was an eye opener.

Even in the limited time he spent with the two-week operation, 13 children were stopped in the streets, six of whom were immediately escorted back to school.

On the face of it, sending a mother to prison for failing to ensure her children attend class as happened in Oxfordshire seems an extreme measure.

She and her daughters now maintain that they had a short, sharp but effective lesson and will toe the line.

It is certainly not the answer for everyone, however. Very often the children who stay away from school are from vulnerable families who will not survive this kind of break up.

On the other side of the coin, they are the youngsters who can least afford to miss out on the schooling that will help them to win a more secure future.

Anyone who comes up with a really good solution to the problem of truancy deserves to be recognised. If you have useful ideas, share them with us on our Letters page.