Children stopped out of school are often with parents

The Department for Education and Skills says the five education authorities involved are to be congratulated for their quick adoption of the new powers.

The �50 fines have been sent out in Birmingham, Rotherham, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent and Cumbria. They rise to �100 if not paid within 28 days.

More areas are expected to follow suit this term, with the whole country using the new powers by the end of the year.

FIRST FIXED PENALTY NOTICES Birmingham: 24 Rotherham: 9 Liverpool: 4 Stoke-on-Trent: 2 Cumbria: 1

The fixed penalty notices can be issued without having to take parents through the courts for their children's non-attendance at school.

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) said each authority had to set up and consult people on local guidelines.

These were the first to have done that and to have identified parents they believed it would be appropriate to penalise.

"We welcome the early use of these powers," said a spokesman.

Liverpool City Council's acting principal attendance officer, Lesley Sheriff, said it already had initiatives to tackle truancy - including confidential phone lines for people to report pupils out of school - and believed the penalty notices would help further.

"We have issued a small number of notices in the last two weeks and they have already had a positive impact as a deterrent to parents who keep their children away from school without good reason and permission."

Term-time holidays

The DfES said most penalties would follow efforts by a school and local education authority to work with parents.

But they could be used for first offences such as unauthorised absences for term-time holidays.

The spokesman stressed that schools had the discretion to authorise absence "for up to 10 school days a year for holidays in special circumstances", and fines would not be directed against parents who had permission.

But he added: "This is not an automatic entitlement."

This can lead to conflicts, as many parents believe it is indeed an entitlement but schools are under pressure not to grant requests for leave.

You should not expect your child's school to agree to a family holiday during term time Official advice to parents

Some have been using the new legislation to threaten parents that they will face a "�100 fine" if they take their children on holiday.

Schools with above-average levels of unauthorised absence have been set targets for reducing them.

They were told by the government: "We are developing a publicity strategy aimed at parents to highlight the issues, particularly that of school holidays."

Intervention

The DfES spokesman said: "Children have a fundamental right to an education, and parents must play their part in supporting the schools by ensuring that their child attends school regularly and behaves well."

The new penalties, contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, came into force in February.

The fine is �50 - per parent, where there are two - if paid within 28 days, rising to �100 between 28 and 42 days. Those who do not pay can be prosecuted.

Some children are educated at home. The laws on truancy apply only to those who are registered with a school.

The Liberal Democrats' education spokesman Phil Willis said making criminals of truants and their families would do little to re-engage children in education.

"Every survey in the last 30 years has shown that the cause of truancy is a lack of engaging lessons and teacher support. Britain desperately needs an education system that interests our young people.

"Fining parents and forcing students into schools where nothing changes is a recipe for further unrest in the classroom and adds to the burden of overworked teachers."