PARENTS whose kids miss five days of school risk a £160 fine under a government attendance drive.
Headteachers will also be forced to share their absence data so local authorities can keep tabs on children under threat of falling through the cracks.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has vowed to tackle truancy which surged in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
The unauthorised absence rate for this academic year stands at around 2.2 per cent – roughly 200,200 kids who are skipping school.
The crackdown will compel all councils to consider fining parents if their child racks up five days off class without permission.
Currently local authorities have varying policies about when to issue fixed penalty notices.
Meanwhile fines will go up from £60 to £80 if paid within three weeks, and from £120 to £160 if paid within four weeks.
The laws – which will make clear fines should only be used where attendance interventions have failed – will kick in from August in time for the next school year starting in September.
Ms Keegan highlighted a “worldwide rise in absence” due to schools shutting in lockdown and worsening pupil’s mental health.
She said: “Our fantastic schools and teachers unlock children’s imagination, potential and social skills which is why improving attendance is my number one priority.”
But union bosses slammed the plans, with National Education Union leader Daniel Kebede saying fines were “not the answer”.
He said: “Especially in a cost-of-living crisis where some of those families may well be struggling to make ends meet, and this would simply plunge them into debt.”
