JOINT police and council operations to target truant pupils in Ceredigion have begun, after police labelled the fact that pupils are deliberately avoiding attending school “unacceptable”.

The truancy sweeps, which began last month, saw Dyfed-Powys Police officers and staff from Ceredigion County Council’s Education Inclusion Service targeting truancy.

The service gave no details of how many children were caught or spoken to during the first operation on 26 February, but said that more sweeps would follow.

Sergeant Paul Roberts from Aberystwyth Police Station said: “The operation was one of a number of similar operations that we plan to conduct in the future with our partner agencies, and we are assisting the Education Inclusion Service to run this particular operation.

“We are aware that there are a number of genuine reasons why children do not attend school; however, it is unacceptable that there is a small minority of pupils who deliberately avoid attending school regularly and both the police and the Education Inclusion Service intend to address this problem by organising further collaborate initiatives.”

A spokesperson for the Education Inclusion Service said: “Truancy sweeps are to be used as an additional resource to help local authorities fulfil their statutory duty of ensuring that registered pupils attend school regularly and arrive on time.

“Moreover regular school attendance gives all pupils the opportunity to get maximum benefit from the excellent educational opportunities available in Ceredigion schools.”

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