PARENTS who allow their children to truant from Swindon schools may face on-the-spot fines in the new academic year.

Swindon Council is drawing up guidelines for head teachers who from September will be able to issue penalties of up to £100 if children miss lessons without permission.

Ten local authorities have already decided not to take up the new powers in case they damage relations between schools and families.

But the fines look set to be used in Swindon even though the town has defied the national rise in truancy.

There has been a 38 per cent drop in unauthorised absences in the past five years compared with a 16 per cent rise across the country.

The council is observing how schools in the Devon area use the fines and how effective they are before they are introduced in Swindon.

Nigel Pickering, social inclusion manager said they would be used only as a last resort.

He said: "In hardened cases of truancy, some people don't take any notice of what we are trying to do and fines could be used in those situations.

"Devon has just kicked off with it and are putting it into practice.

"We are observing what they are doing and the next stage for us would be to consult with schools.

"Fines are another tool for us and they have an immediate impact on a family.

"They are part of a whole raft of measures we are looking at to keep truancy down in Swindon.

"Other measures would be parenting contracts, formalised agreements with a family so you don't necessarily have to go down the court route."

Some fear that parents who take their children on holiday during term time, when they can get a cheaper deal, will also fall foul of the new measures.

Lead member for education Garry Perkins (Con, Shaw and Nine Elms) said: "The parents more likely to be caught in the trap are not likely to have large amounts of cash filling their pockets. In Swindon, our truancy rates are low because the education welfare officers work very well with parents.

"Fines should be used when all other avenues have been tried."

Bhavani Vadde