Parents face fines

Head teachers will have new powers to hand out on-the-spot cash penalties if children repeatedly miss lessons.

The Department for education said the threat of fines would encourage mums and dads to ensure children did not skip classes.

If families refuse to pay up, they could be prosecuted and face a possible jail sentence.

Now education bosses in Hampshire and Southampton are drawing up guidelines for schools about the new powers.

Jim McGilvery, Hampshire County Council's deputy principal education welfare officer, said: "In order for penalty notices to be issued by head teachers, or indeed by anyone else, a protocol in relation to the issuing and processing of these has to be in place and agreed by the LEA.

"We are currently devising ours and should have this in place by the end of the year."

Levels of attendance in Hampshire primary schools (94.9 per cent) and secondary schools (92.3 per cent) are above the national average.

However, Mr McGilvery said there was no room for complacency.

"We view truancy as a matter of concern and we encourage schools and parents by promoting regular attendance and we participate in truancy sweeps."

In Southampton, education chiefs are also drawing up a new policy to put into place in September at the earliest.

It follows on the city's successful School Attendance Matters project that saw attendance rates increase in ten primary schools.

A Department for Education spokesman said LEAs would be urged to use the new powers as early as the beginning of the new school year in September.

He said: "We welcome early use of these powers. The issuing of a penalty notice is a serious matter.

"It will only be done once alternative sanctions have been considered."

Truancy sweeps carried out by LEAs and police last year found half of all children truanting were accompanied by their parents, he added.

Local education officers and police will also be able to hand out fixed penalty notices.