PARENTS in Swindon have forked out nearly £100,000 in fines for taking their children out of school without permission.

The figures, obtained through a freedom of information request by a law firm, show that the borough council issued almost 2,000 fines in the 2015/2016 school year for children who were absent from school.

If all the fines issued in the town were paid within 21 days, it would amount to £97,680.

However, a solicitor has slammed the findings and claims parents are being wrongly led to believe they cannot appeal an Educational Penalty Notice. Some of the blame has also been pointed at headteachers in the town for being too strict.

“What one headteacher agrees are special circumstances, another doesn’t. It is a postcode lottery,” said Julie Robertson, from Simpson Millar who specialises in helping families challenge the fine.

“Swindon is in the top half of councils as far as the number of fines issued is concerned. We need more consistency and, in some areas, more common sense.

“From the national figures we can see how some schools are using their discretion appropriately where the parents are sensible in their choices and decisions. Others seem to be rather abundant in slapping parents with a fine regardless of the circumstances.”

But one headteacher disagrees. Dorcan Academy’s Sherryl Bareham said: “The consequence of receiving a fine for taking children out of school for holidays has definitely had an impact and attendance has improved because of it.

“There is no doubt that students who have 100 per cent attendance or 95 per cent plus attendance achieve significantly higher than those who have less.

“At Dorcan we consider each case individually and ensure consistency with our feeder primary schools where there are siblings affected and only authorise in exceptional circumstances, which is down to the discretion of the headteacher.” These circumstances are usually personal and family related or allow students to access opportunities that are developmental for their education.”

Individual schools in Swindon notify the council when a child has an unauthorised absence. Parents are then issued with a £60 fixed penalty notice, which rises to £120 if it is not paid within 21 days.

The penalty was introduced in a bid to help curb unauthorised absence for children of school age. But the law has increasingly outraged parents, many hauled before Swindon’s courts, who have been fined for taking children with a good attendance record out of school for a specific reason.

Ms Robertson is concerned about parents’ lack of understanding when it comes to their rights to challenge the penalty. and says they are often told wrongly that they have no right to appeal.

She said: “The threat of criminal proceedings and a possible conviction naturally makes parents pay up without question. It is a very effective tactic. Parents should seek legal advice within the first 21 days.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said penalty notices were issued after careful consideration to the facts of each case.

“We only proceed in cases where there has been a clear failure to attend school regularly,” he said.