Educational Welfare Officer (Episode 6410)

After David Platt had played truant from Weatherfield High for several weeks and had lied about being bullied, his mother Gail was worried when she received a letter from the Educational Welfare Officer in October 2006 demanding a meeting.

The Officer visited 8 Coronation Street and met with Gail alone, despite her telling David that she wanted him to be at home for the meeting. As Gail explained how she'd tried everything to get her son to go to school and that she was at her wits' end, the Officer suggested that it would maybe more beneficial to bring in a professional counsellor to see the family as a whole - as in some cases there were factors that influenced the family unit and not just the individual child.