Parents in Bradford will get £50 fines if they let their children persistently play truant from school.

Education Bradford has revealed it will impose the fixed penalties after new figures revealed the city is 102nd out of the country's 150 education authorities for the numbers of pupils skipping lessons.

Its spokesman said the fines were being introduced as part of its Every School Day Counts drive to tackle the problem.

Leaflets warning of the new sanctions are to be sent to the home of every pupil through their schools.

If a child misses a minimum of ten half sessions without permission during a six-week period their parent or carer will receive a written warning about the possibility of a fixed penalt notice. They will then be given a 20-day schoolday time limit to improve attendance, and if not they will be fined.

Last year more than 600 parents were prosecuted for failing to ensure their children attended school.

"Penalty notices will be used as an early deterrent to prevent a pattern of unauthorised absence developing," said an Education Bradford spokesman. "If anyone is experiencing any difficulties with their child's school attendance they should contact the school as soon as possible."

Statistics for 2002 to 2003 show 15,881 half days were missed by the district's 30,692 secondary school pupils.

A total of 11,129 out of 40,989 primary pupils missed school without permission - one in four.

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) published the latest attendance bulletin as schools chiefs in Bradford were told to get tough to crack down on truancy.

The average number of half-days missed by youngsters skipping primary school lessons without permission was eight, said the DfES.

In secondary schools, the national figure was significantly worse - with truants missing an average of 16 half-days, which is mirrored in Bradford.

In July, the Telegraph & Argus reported how Bradford schools chalked up their best attendance figures.

For secondary schools the figures were 91.2 per cent for 2003/2004 compared with 89.2 per cent the previous year.

But Councillor Dale Smith, Bradford Council's education portfolio holder, said some parents still needed to take school attendance more seriously.

"Communities as a whole still undervalue the importance of education and we are having to encourage parents to make sure their children attend school regularly.

"They need to realise that youngsters need their education to move them forward and upward.

"But we are fighting a hard battle and I do hope the fixed penalties will help people realise that this is a very serious matter."

Helen Lynch, head teacher of Nab Wood School, Cottingley, who is convenor for the Secondary Heads' Association, said the district had to focus on the positive aspects.

"All schools take attendance very seriously and we all welcome support and schemes which help push attendance," she said.

"We have to convince parents that every day is important and figures are going up.

"The fixed penalties could act as a short, sharp shock for parents and it could be what they need to show them how serious it is."

Mrs Lynch said a lot was being done to impress on parents the importance of attendance, and said she had received a positive response at her school.

Parents must apply for authorised absence from school, any unauthorised absence is logged and reported to Education Bradford. No more than ten days per year are allowed on request.

"Sometimes a parent might keep their child at home for things like shopping trips and some take their children out of school for family holidays and this is still quite a big issue in Bradford," said Mrs Lynch.

"There has been a lot of positive work with the Asian communities about trips to the Indian sub-continent."

Education chiefs are concerned because children who miss school are more likely to fall into crime, drugs and unemployment.

The percentage of days missed through unauthorised absence was 0.69 per cent of total primary school time and 2.863 per cent of secondary school time.

This compared to national averages of 0.44 per cent and 1.1 per cent.

In Calderdale, 1,938 of the district's 15,900 primary school pupils played truant last year. The average number of half-days missed was seven.

In secondary schools, 2,270 of Calderdale's 12,786 pupils skipped classes - with truants missing an average of nine half-days.

In Kirklees, 5,117 of the district's 30,206 primary school pupils played truant last year. The average number of half-days missed was seven.

In secondary schools, 5,121 of Kirklees' 25,867 pupils skipped classes - with truants missing an average of 17 half-days.

Last year, the Government threatened a new get-tough approach for parents who fail to get their children to school.

Head teachers are allowed to impose £50 penalty fines - similar to those to be handed out by the police for drunkenness - to the worst offenders.

Schools Minister Stephen Twigg said: "A stubborn minority of pupils, often with parental collusion, remain determined to jeopardise their education and their futures through persistent truancy.

"We will continue to support local education authorities and schools facing the greatest challenges with targeted measures that we know work in improving attendance, and expect them to set tough new targets for

themselves."

He added: "We will also not hesitate to support schools and local education authorities that use sanctions such as prosecution and penalty fines for those parents who are simply unwilling to get their children into school."