Parents are being hit with an increasing number of fines for truancy as schools try to crack down on the number of children skipping school post-pandemic, new data reveal.
Fines were largely set aside in recent years because of the disruption caused by Covid-19. But an investigation by the BBC has found penalties have returned. Just over 71,000 fines totalling £3.7 million have already been given out to parents this academic year, up until Easter.
There has been growing concern about absence rates since it was revealed that almost 1.8 million children regularly missed school in the first term of this academic year.
