A LOCKWOOD school has come up with a novel way to tackle truancy.

Bicycles, watches and Kindles are just some of the incentives being offered to pupils at Mount Pleasant Junior, Infant and Nursery School for good attendance.

Even parents are getting in on the act. If their child has no absences in an academic year, they are presented with a bouquet of flowers.

And school staff have taken to knocking on pupils’ doors to make sure they are on the way to school.

The glittering prizes are the brainchild of new headteacher Dr Mujahid Ali, who took over at the 578-pupil Mount Street school last May.

Children who attend for a full week receive a golden ticket with their name on. At the end of every term or half term, this goes into a golden box and the lucky prizewinners get a bike, or a Kindle if they already have a cycle.

Pupils with a 100% attendance record over a year are given watches and their parents get a bouquet. The class with the best attendance record wins a book token.

The school was graded as 3, Satisfactory, by the last Ofsted inspection in June 2011. Attendance of both pupils and staff was below par.

The attendance scheme is one of a number of sweeping new measures introduced by Dr Ali to drive up standards with his ‘Think Big, Aim High’ strategy.

And the scheme, which has a budget of £3,000, is working. According to school attendance officer Tracey Kershaw, absences have almost halved and attendance is now at 95% and continuing to improve. Last week it was 98% compared to the Kirklees average of 94.9%.

Dr Ali said: “Attendance has improved massively since the introduction of the scheme. It is very positive and has increased awareness among families and the community.

“Teachers will actually go to a pupil’s house, knock on the door and bring that child into school, as has happened today.

“It is about making a cultural shift. If the child is in school he or she is learning, if they are at home, who knows what is happening?

“School is important, it is a fun place to be and to learn.

“This is a good way of spending money as children are coming into school and we are making progress. The staff and myself are also generating income through other sources, such as training courses.

“Credit must go to our attendance officer Tracey Kershaw who is doing an excellent job.”

Following the success of the attendance prizes, Dr Ali is now looking at introducing a new scheme to improve punctuality.

His aim is for the school to be graded as Good in the next Ofsted inspection.