TRUANCY crackdowns are to continue in Bolton although a national survey has revealed they have had no impact nationally on the number of children turning up at school.

Local education officials believe the truancy sweeps -- when children are stopped during the day by educational social workers -- are playing a part in discouraging children from skipping school.

A national poll for the Department for Education and Skills has revealed that the proportion of headteachers who reveal truancy is a problem has increased from a third at the beginning of 2002 to more than four in 10 by the end of the year.

Pollsters Continental Research questioned more than 1,500 heads, teachers, governors, local education authority officials, classroom assistants and parents for the survey at the beginning, middle and end of last year.

The first time they asked about truancy 33 per cent of headteachers said it was a problem.

By the end of the year, the proportion had risen to 41 per cent, the survey showed.

In Bolton education chiefs have defended truancy crackdowns, mainly in Bolton town centre.

Over the last 10 months more than 1,000 children in Bolton have been stopped and questioned on the streets of the town.

Principal education social worker Ian Price said the sweeps in Bolton to stop and speak to children -- who should be at school on a weekday -- had been "very positive'.

He said the repeated sweeps are just one part of a major scheme in the town to tackle the problem of non school attendance.

Education officers are currently carrying out an analysis on statistics.

They are trying to find out if a number of the same children are repeatedly getting stopped or if they are coming across different children during the sweeps.

Mr Price said: "If we are getting different children truancy sweeps are having an effect on those who stop."

More than 50,000 children miss lessons in England every day and many are with an adult -- likely to be a parent when they are picked up by police or education welfare officers.

As part of the crackdown the government is now urging local education authorities to prosecute more parents and increasing numbers are being fined or even jailed for allowing their children to bunk off school.

The practice has been questioned by the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, and David Hart general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said he had doubts about the long term effectiveness of the operations.

Mr Hart said : "I think the message isn't yet getting through and it will take a long time before it does get through.

"Truancy sweeps work initially but I have my doubts about their long term impact.