Nearly 5,000 penalty notices were issued to parents between 22 April2006 and 1 September 2006. This is more than double the fines issuedbetween 2 April 2005 and 31 July 2005. In total, 1,406 cases wereprosecuted for non-payment during the four months in 2006, up from 354in 2005.
But figures released last week by the Department for Education andSkills show that unauthorised absences remained stubbornly at 0.78 percent of half days missed last academic year - exactly the same level asthe previous year.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said punitive measureslike penalty notices were not always successful. "We think the wayforward is communication with parents and developing partnerships. Ifpenalty measures are used instead of offering support we think they arerelatively meaningless."
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