Parents in Oxfordshire were slapped with more than 150 fines after their children missed school last year, new figures reveal.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) says absence is not only disruptive to the pupil concerned but their peers and teachers as well, and has urged parents to follow the rules.

Department for Education (DfE) data shows that 152 penalty notices were issued to Oxfordshire parents for a child’s poor attendance in 2018-19, although this was 14 per cent fewer than in the previous school year.

Of these, 67per cent were handed out for an unauthorised family holiday​.

Over the same period, the rate of unauthorised absence – the proportion of all available half-day school periods missed without permission – ​rose marginally, ​from ​1.1per cent to 1.2per cent.

Across England, fines rose by 28per cent to more than 333,000 in 2018-19. This followed a 75per cent increase the previous year.

The vast majority of these (86per cent) were for unapproved term-time holidays.

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Penalty notices are £60 if paid within 21 days of being issued – in Oxfordshire, 99 fines worth £5,940 were paid within this time.

The fee rises to £120 if paid between 22 and 28 days – this was the case on six occasions in the area, equivalent to £720.

If the penalty is still outstanding after this, the council must either prosecute for the original offence or withdraw the notice.

​In Oxfordshire, four fines issued in 2018-19 ended in prosecution.

A DfE spokeswoman said: “Local authorities now have greater clarity on when they can issue fines to parents who take their children out of school without good reason – and this is reflected in the increase.”

Geoff Barton, from ASCL, said the sanctions were better than nothing.