PARENTS have been urged not to take their children out of school after 45 pupils were stopped in two hours during Darlington's latest truancy sweep.

The sweep on Friday, November 18, involved six of the council's education welfare officers, three police officers and a warden.

During the sweep, which lasted from 10am to noon, 45 children were stopped. Thirty of these were with an adult.

The sweep stopped 20 primary age children and 25 secondary school pupils, with 12 of the children coming from other local authority areas.

Reasons given for the children not being at school included shopping for new clothes, going to a wedding, breaktime, pupils not required to attend on a Friday and medical appointments.

Other children admitted they were playing truant, or were excluded from school.

Fourteen of the group were already known to welfare officers for non-attendance.

Chris McEwan, Darlington Borough Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "Parents have to help their children understand the importance of going to school."

Truancy sweeps are an on-going part of Darlington council's attendance strategy which aims to work with teachers and parents to make sure children attend lessons.

The information from the sweeps is collated by the DfES and published on its website, at www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolattendance/truancysweeps/index.cfm