More penalty notices were issued to parents for withdrawing their children from school in Bury to go on holiday last year, new figures show.

Penalty notices are handed to a guardian if a child frequently misses school and costs either £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt or £120 thereafter.

If it is not paid in four weeks, the local authority must either prosecute or withdraw the notice.

Department for Education figures show the council handed out 1,866 penalties to parents and guardians for their child's persistent absence in the 2022-23 academic year.

Of them, 1,752 (94 per cent) were issued due to students being taken out of school for holidays – up from 756 the year before.

Before the pandemic in 2018-19, 1,708 penalty notices were issued for unauthorised holidays.

In response to the figures, a council spokesperson said: “It is essential that children attend school as much as possible, to give them the very best life chances and opportunities.

“Young people with even 90 per cent attendance still miss a whole year of studies over their whole time at school.

“We have been taking a more pro-active approach to tackling poor attendance, which accounts for the increase in penalty notices issued to parents.

“This has had an effect – overall attendance in Bury schools has increased by 1.8 per cent. 

"This is a positive outcome, ensuring that Bury children are receiving a full education and achieve better outcomes.   

“Before a penalty notice is issued, the parent will receive a written warning explaining that their child’s absences cannot be authorised by the school and that there is a possibility that a penalty notice will be issued. 

“Where a family may be struggling with their child’s attendance at school, there is support available from the school attendance team and from the early help team.  All contact information can be found at www.bury.gov.uk.”

Meanwhile, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "Fines have always been too blunt an instrument when it comes to tackling persistent absenteeism.

"The use of fines is controversial, and it is becoming clear that they are ineffective in addressing overall absence."

He added: "Unless more is done to find out the reasons behind continual periods of absence and tackle the root causes behind persistent absenteeism, including support for vulnerable families and for children and young people’s mental health, fining families is unlikely to solve the issue."

Across England, nearly 399,000 fines were issued in 2022-23 – a 20 per cent jump from pre-pandemic figures.

About 356,000 (89 per cent) were for unauthorised holidays, as families looked to book cheaper vacations outside school term times.

It has more than trebled since 2016-17, when 116,000 such fines were imposed.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We know that regular school attendance is vital for a child’s education, wellbeing and future life chances."

They added: "Parents have a duty to make sure their child regularly attends school, and holidays should be around school breaks to avoid taking children out of school during term time.

"Our guidance is based on a support-first ethos, however we support schools and local authorities to use punitive measures such as fines where it is deemed appropriate."