A £2m scheme to improve schools attendance is proving a success, according to a major report on its progress.

A Durham County Council investigation concluded that the scheme - set-up partly in response to criticisms in an Ofsted report on the authority's ability to deal with truancy in the county - is working well.

But it said that more money should be made available to provide transport for children excluded from schools, so they can take part in an alternative education programme.

The scheme, called the Behaviour Support Plan, was set up in early 1999 with £2,160,000 Government cash.

It was hoped the team would help tackle criticisms by Ofsted and Audit Commission inspectors, who identified attendance issues as being a problem in the county.

The Impact programme was set up to work with teenagers in their last two years of school, with lower than 50 per cent attendance records.

The programme, called Impact because it was hoped it would have a major impact on the children's lives, aims to build the pupils' self-esteem.

The council report said that, initially, 187 pupils were removed from schools across County Durham and sent to three centres, in Stanley, Spennymoor and Seaham.

Since the project began, the number of pupils attending has risen to more than 300 and extra centres have been set up at Chester-le-Street and a fifth is planned for Ferryhill.

The pupils remain on school rolls, but receive counselling, sometimes in their own homes. The scheme employs three fieldworkers.

One parent, who remained anonymous, was quoted in the council's investigation report as saying: "My daughter now has confidence in herself and the self-esteem to do things other children find quite easy.

"In the evening she will go out with her friends. She would not do that before Impact."

The council found that nearly all the youngsters involved had improved attendance records.

But transport was identified as a major handicap.

The report said: "Although the cost of individual taxis is unreasonable, there are lots of educational benefits to the programme of having individual transport in the form of mini-bus facilities at each site."

Councillors agreed to endorse the recommendations, during a meeting at County Hall in Durham City this week.