Increasing numbers of parents are being taken to court because their children have skipped school, with thousands facing action last year.
Figures obtained by the Press Association show that 16,430 parents in England were prosecuted for failing to ensure their children went to school in 2014 – equivalent to around 86 cases for each day of the school year.
This is up a quarter on 2013, when 13,128 people were taken to court.