Parents are receiving an increasing number of fines by schools trying to encourage children to stop missing school. Almost 1.8 million children regularly missed school in the first term of this academic year. As part of a mission to tackle this, parents have been fined £3.7m so far. For some families there are financial barriers; for example, one pupil messaged that they don't have trousers to wear into school. A uniform bank within the school has now been set up to help remove that barrier, but building trust with families can be tough. Some people are not brave enough to come forward and say they can't afford things. Some parents can't afford the dinner money, and it's cheaper to keep them at home. Parents have also been known to keep older children off school to look after younger siblings. Persuading parents to encourage their children into school can be difficult, as many families face ‘heart-wrenching’ struggles.