ONE of the borough's biggest secondary schools has signed up to an innovative web-based system which helps it tackle truancy at the press of a button.

Wanstead High School, in Redbridge Lane West, has joined the online Truancy Call scheme, which allows staff to alert parents to their child's absence instantaneously by email, text message and telephone.

The school - which has a relatively low truancy rate - is the first in Redbridge to have signed up to the system.

Data from the Department of Education shows just 3.5 per cent of students were "persistently absent" from secondary schools in the borough during the 2007/08 academic year - one of the lowest rates in London.

It marks a further drop of one per cent from last year.

Bryan Arkell, Assistant Head Teacher at the school said the system has made life easier for staff and parents. He said: "Truancy Call is so effective because it's immediate. It has freed up time for the attendance officer who no longer has to be on the phone all the time and it has made a real difference to our unauthorised absence levels.

"We have had a very pleasing reaction from the parents as the system reminds them that they must inform the school straight away if their child is absent. Previously we had to call all the parents individually but now we press a button and Truancy Call does the job for us."

The school has also begun to use a similar onoline system called Call Parents to alert families to events taking place throughout the year.

Stephen Clarke, Managing Director of Truancy Call, said: "Wanstead High School appreciates the necessity of contacting parents on the first day of their child's absence.

"If the Government and schools are to continue successfully tackling truancy, it is vital that they implement early prevention strategies, so that children taking the odd day off here and there can be quickly identified, and the problem resolved before it gets to a stage when a child is persistently truanting."

For more information visit: truancycall.com and callparents.com