SIX parents have had to pay more than £1,000 each for failing to ensure their children attended school in Bradford.

The parents – all of whom cannot be named for legal reasons to protect the identities of their children – appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court on June 22 on charges brought by Bradford Council.

In each case, it was proven that the defendants – five mothers and one father – were parents of children of compulsory school age registered at a school who failed to attend regularly.

The first, a mother from the south of Bradford, failed to ensure her 14-year-old and 16-year-old went to school for almost two months around the Christmas period.

The teenagers were absent from November 22, 2021, to January 14 of this year.

She was fined £660 for each child and ordered to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £132, for a total penalty of £1,602.

The second, a mother from the east of the city, was proven to have failed to ensure her 14-year-old and 15-year-old were attending school between November 8 and December 17 of last year.

She was fined £550 per child and ordered to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £110, for a total penalty of £1,360.

Another mother from east Bradford failed to ensure her three children attended school for the same period as the family above.

She was fined £220 for each child, and also had to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £110, for a total penalty of £1,360.

The fourth mother took her seven and 10-year-olds out of school during the period of November 8 to December 17.

She was fined £440 for each child and had to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £88, for a total penalty of £1,118.

The sole father in court, who was from the south of the city, failed to ensure his six-year-old and nine-year-old were at school for just over a month last November and January.

He was fined £440 for each child and ordered to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £88, for a total penalty of £1,118.

The final mother, from Bradford East, was found to have failed to ensure her 14-year-old and 12-year-old attended school between November 8 and December 17 of last year.

She was fined £660 for the older child and £220 for the other one, and also had to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £88 for a total penalty of £1,118.