£100 fines for skipping school (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

£100 fines for skipping school

PARENTS of persistent truants could be fined up to £100 if their children continue to skip school.

Police in Warminster have introduced a formal warning system to alert parents when their children are caught wandering the streets during school time.

Police community support officers will deliver a letter for parents to sign when their children are found.

If the child continues to offend, the parent will be issued with a fixed penalty notice for £100.

The move comes as school standards minister Jacqui Smith announced a crackdown on truancy, with parents being threatened with fines or imprisonment if their children's attendance does not improve within 12 weeks.

Figures released on Wednesday show truancy rates in England's schools have risen sharply, with overall rates of unauthorised absences rising to 0.79 per cent, the highest since 1994.

In Wiltshire unauthorised absences rose to 0.57 per cent, in line with national averages.

Parents could face on-the-spot fines of £50 followed by penalties of up to £2,500 or three months in prison in the worst cases.

Police are concerned about the link between truancy and antisocial behaviour and are keen to stamp out the problem.

Joseph Dalziel-Merrett, one of two PCSOs in Warminster, said: "It is our job to find out why these kids are missing school and to try to put a stop to it.

"Last week alone I caught 15 children out of school and the problem seems to be getting worse. Some parents say they cannot control their kids but that mis just not good enough."

Sheelagh Brown, headteacher at Kingdown Community School, welcomed the initiative.

"We are working very closely with the PCSOs and parents to try to ensure that all our pupils stay in school," she said.

"Last academic year we had the best attendance record in west Wiltshire but there are always a few who slip through the net.

"Unfortunately, the rest of the students will get tarred with the same brush.

"It's a difficult situation you can't exclude pupils for truanting because that defeats the object of trying to get them to school."

Sergeant Mark Andrews of Warminster police warned: "Teenagers involved in truancy get caught up in antisocial behaviour and that is something we are trying to prevent.

"We now have the power to issue these fixed penalty notices and we will not be afraid to use them."