THE number of Cumbrian parents hit with fines after their children skipped classes has risen by 25 per cent.

In the current academic year, 108 fixed penalty notices have been issued to parents as opposed to just 80 in the previous school year.

The notices, which consist of fines of up to £120, are given when a child has a build-up of unauthorised absences without permission from the school’s headteacher.

These vary from school to school, but generally include holidays during term times as well as days off for birthdays and weddings.

Councillor Clare Feeney-Johnson, cabinet member for schools and learning at Cumbria County Council, wants more parents to be aware of the harm that can be caused to children who don’t regularly attend school.

She said: “We all want the best for our children and research shows that good attendance at school has an impact on their overall educational outcome. Any child of school age should be attending school regularly. It’s so important to get into a habit and routine and parents need to recognise this.”

Across the country, more than 74,000 parents were hit with £4.5m worth of fines for taking their kids on holiday during term time in the last school year.

However, Mrs Feeney-Johnson is adamant that a continuous lack of attendance is more common in Cumbria and schools should adopt a more logical approach when dealing with holidays during term time.

She said: “Every school should take a pragmatic approach and a child’s regular attendance should be taken into account. If a child has attended more than 90 per cent of classes all year, the school should make a pragmatic decision based on that.”

The Department for Education defines persistent absenteeism as below 90 per cent attendance. Schools can use this figure to determine whether or not to pursue legal action against parents or guardians.

Guidance from Cumbria County Council itself states that only the headteacher of a school can authorise absences. It also says that schools must refuse requests for holidays within term time, unless the circumstances are exceptional.

It comes as almost half of parents say they are more likely to take their children on holiday during term-time in light of a recent High Court judgment in favour of a father who took his daughter to Florida.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb has said the Government will do “everything in its power” to ensure headteachers are able to keep children in school.

“We are clear – children should not be taken out of school during term except in exceptional circumstances,” he added.