At least 600 parents have been fined for failing to ensure their children turned up at school, Blottr can reveal.

Around 256 parents were successfully prosecuted and 191 were handed court fines totalling £40,281.

Fixed penalty notices worth £33,600 have been handed to a further 384 parents for allowing their children to persistently miss lessons between January 2009 and May 2011.

These worrying figures have been released courtesy of the Freedom of Information Act.

They also showed at least 315,875 half-day sessions had been taken off without permission from the city’s primary and secondary schools between September 2010 and Easter 2011.

Among the worst performing schools in terms of attendance were; Primrose High School, Lawnswood School and Woodlands Primary School, in Harehills.

Research has suggested that children who have less than 92% attendance will suffer lower grades.