ARCH criticised truancy sweeps as neither cost-effective nor successful in combating truancy, and found that uncertainties over the definition of truancy led to inconsistency. ARCH also raised concerns about truancy sweeps being too intrusive - upsetting young people who were off school for a reason - and suggested that focusing on truancy was masking other issues.
Terri Dowty, director of ARCH, said forcing attendance is futile. "There's no point in trying to compel children who aren't coping, for whatever reasons, with school." She cited Manchester's Carousel Project and Talk - Don't Walk schemes, and the Norwich Union Youth Apprenticeship Scheme as more positive ways to address truancy.
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