PARENTS of children who persistently play truant from Oaklands school in York face being fined £50.

What an excellent idea.

Truancy is a problem which has been highlighted in The Press before.

Every year, council patrols pick up scores of youngsters who should be at school. Some of them are even caught in the company of their parents.

Oakland School has one of the worst records in the city for truancy. On average, its pupils miss one school day out of every 50.

That is what has prompted head teacher David Ellis to us new legislation to tackle the problem. Since September, the parents of 12 persistent truants have been hauled before the school's "attendance panel" and threatened with a court appearance and a £50 fine. The children's attendance has improved as a result.

This is an excellent scheme. As The Press has said before, parents have a responsibility to know where their children are, and to ensure that they get a proper education.

Bunking off hurts nobody more than the children themselves. They miss vital lessons, and begin to think they can do what they want.

It must be up to their parents to show them where the boundaries are.

York actually has a better record than many other cities on truancy. Yet there are still too many parents who do not seem to realise how important it is that their children go to school every day. If they can't see that education is important for its own sake, maybe they can be convinced of its value if they are hit where it hurts - in the pocket.

Schools are to be commended for this bold approach. We hope others are watching and taking note.