More parents are due in court

Six parents accused of failing to send their children to school will appear before magistrates in Llanelli - the first court in Wales to jail a woman for a similar offence.

The mums and dads have been summoned to appear before the bench on Monday.

Last month at the same court a 35-year-old woman was jailed for 28 days because her 14-year-old son had not attended class for three months.

The prosecutions are being brought by Carmarthenshire Council which has been accused over taking a heavy-handed approach to the problem of truanting.

The government has set targets for truancy and local authorities are under pressure to prosecute Louise Harvey - Patco

The organisation Parents Against Truancy Court Orders (Patco) has urged the parents to plead not guilty on Monday.

"Most cases of truancy have a medical basis. Children may be bullied, have a special need like attention deficit disorder, or have a phobia," said spokeswoman Louise Harvey.

"Jailing parents is a quick solution to a complicated problem.

�2,500 fine

"The government has set targets for truancy and local authorities are under pressure to prosecute.

"The way councils are dealing with this problem is worrying and it is up to parents to speak out against it."

But education officers in Carmarthenshire say prosecutions are only brought as a last resort.

"A huge amount of support is available to parents and we will always explore all avenues before court proceedings," said education welfare officer, Philip Jones.

The mother of this 14-year-old boy was jailed

"Parents have a clear responsibility to ensure their children are in school and we will not hesitate to take them to court if they neglect that responsibility."

Under laws introduced in 2000, penalties for persistent truancy were increased to a maximum fine of �2,500 or a jail term of three months.

It is unlikely that if any of the six parents are convicted on Monday they will face an immediate jail sentence as it is their first appearances and courts routinely ask for pre-sentence reports before taken such action.

The 35-year-old woman jailed last month served 12 days of her sentence before being released.

Her son, who can not be identified for legal reasons, apologised and promised to attend class in future.

A spokeswoman for Carmarthenshire council said he has not missed school since his return after the Easter holidays.