Fining parents whose children refuse to go to school will not boost attendance, according to the headteacher of a Bradford school with the second worst truancy rates in the country.

Education Secretary David Blunkett today unveiled plans which could see maximum fines for parents more than double - from £1,000 to £2,500 per parent per child.

But Neil Donkin, headteacher of Eccleshill Upper School, which last year had the second worst rate of unauthorised absence in the country, said the swingeing fines would not help.

"A very small minority of parents do not care about whether their child attends or not and they will simply not have the means to pay a fine,'' he said.

"But there are parents who care deeply and are simply unable to influence their child's behaviour.

"When you have a child who is 14, 15 or 16 and they are saying 'I'm not getting up, I'm not going to school' it is beyond the parents' control.

"I have had parents physically dragging their child to the school gates for the kid to simply walk out of the nearest exit a few minutes later."

Councillor Susanne Rooney, Bradford City Council's Chairman of Education, said the authority only took parents to school over attendance when they felt there was no alternative.

"It is very rare for a parent to actively support their child not going to school and we would only take a parent to court as an absolute last resort."

Coun Rooney said the authority had devolved almost £100,000 to 40 different schools to fund a first absence contact scheme, which involved a trained person phoning or visiting the family of a child on the first day of their unauthorised absence.

A further £20,000 had been earmarked for the Improving Behaviour and Attendance team to pay for projects to boost punctuality and attendance.

Mr Blunkett told the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth that fines would encourage parents to accept responsibility for their child's attendance at school. A parents who refuses to attend court will also be liable to be arrested.

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