Education correspondent Kat Keogh joined the city’s Pupil Watch team, which is leading the fight against truancy.

JUST after lunchtime in a Birmingham suburb, a young family of four make their way down a busy shopping street in the September sunshine.

The two sons are casually dressed for their day out with mum and dad, but this isn’t a half-term holiday treat – its a Wednesday afternoon and the children should be in school.

The shopping trip is cut short, however, when a police officer, flanked by two education welfare officers, approaches the parents to ask why their children are missing from the classroom.

It transpires the family has only been in the country for a matter of weeks.

Poll result: Is it too easy for kids to bunk off school?
Yes 83 percent
No 17 percent

After a lengthy conversation with the team, they will now be allocated a case worker to find school places for their sons.

Government figures show a staggering 640,000 lessons were missed due to unauthorised absence in the West Midlands during this year’s spring term, with 240,828 sessions missed in Birmingham schools alone.

For the past ten years, the police and Birmingham Education Welfare Services have been working together on a scheme called Pupil Watch in a crackdown on truancy.

Uniformed officers and education welfare staff patrol the streets around schools and main shopping areas on a monthly basis in a bid to increase attendance.

Using powers under the Crime and Disorder Act 1988, the police can remove any child who they believe to be of school age from a public place and return them to school or guardians.

Calls are also made to schools and parents to make sure children who are out of lessons are telling the truth.