Last week, 40 parents in five local education authorities became the first to receive the new penalty notices for truancy, which were introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2004.
Birmingham, Rotherham, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent and Cumbria were the first councils to use the new power, which came into force at the end of February.
Jenny Price, general secretary of the Association for Education Welfare Management, said: "Accountability and consistency is vital when issuing penalty notices. We must demonstrate that we are being even-handed in our approach.
"For example, two children from the same family might go to different schools and both be absent without consent. We need to be sure that both schools act consistently, so we don't get the situation where one school issues a fine and the other does not."
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