SCHOOLS in Bolton will be among the first in the country to send mobile telephone text messages to parents whose children are absent in a bid to combat truancy .

The schools will use a company which automatically sends text messages to the mobile phones of parents whose children have not turned up for registration.

The automated service is triggered after details of absent pupils are emailed to a call centre which then phones parents using a computerised voice which must be responded to or the phone continues to ring.

The parents are asked to respond by pressing certain digits if their child is ill, well or their whereabouts are unknown.

For the larger secondary schools relying on an outside call centre can prove more cost effective and efficient than employing clerical staff to ring parents.

Many of the call centre schemes cost £45 per week while the texting service will cost about seven pence per message for the school.

The texting scheme follows a Government campaign to stamp out unauthorised absence which has included truancy sweeps of town centres.

A total of 229 youngsters were caught in a two week sweep in Bolton in May.

The head of Hayward School, Tim Oakes, has recently employed an agency which ring parents whose children do not turn up for registration.

He said: "If there are pupils we are particularly concerned about then we ring home to speak to the parents.

"But truancy isn't a major issue here. We encourage parents to contact us on the first day their child is absent."

Rivington and Blackrod High School employs a whole range of strategies to stop their children playing truant, including the automated messaging service and will be introducing the texting scheme in September.

Head John Baumber said: "Poor attendance is usually the result of something else, so we've looked at the curriculum to provide varied types of courses, such as vocational classes for some kids.

"We write to parents at the start of each school year with their child's attendance record and if that drops below 90 per cent, we write to them again.

"We compile statistics on attendance for the pupils and send them congratulations cards for good attendance and give rewards for 100 per cent attendance."

The Deane School has recently employed the two call centres which use automated messages and personal calls.

They have chosen to continue with the automated messages and will also be using the texting service next term.

Head Tony Hill said: "There were a couple of negative comments from parents who didn't like a computerised voice speaking to them, but on the whole the scheme has been welcomed and the texting service will be even better as some parents only have mobiles and not land lines."