Borehamwood's primary and secondary schools are joining forces to tell parents they cannot take children out of school during term time.

A range of initiatives are being launched to encourage children to go to school, including demanding explanations from those who skip school and rewarding improved attendance.

Ian Lucas, the headteacher at Hertswood, Borehamwood's new secondary school, said he was trying to make his school a place where pupils would want to come and study.

But he said it would take time, as the people of Borehamwood would have to change their attitude to learning: "This is an issue for everybody in the town. We have got to get children into school, instead of letting them stay at home."

Teachers at Hertswood now use a computer system in class to show which pupils are missing or late, and the information is relayed to Mr Lucas.

He said he was able to keep track of pupils when they started skipping school regularly, pupils who skipped particular subjects and pupils who often turned up for classes late.

Hertswood now has an attendance officer, who telephones pupils' parents on the first day of absence and demands an explanation.

At a recent meeting all of Borehamwood's primary school headteachers agreed to adopt a new policy towards absenteeism, where parents who want to take their children out of school during term time will have to talk to their headteachers first.

Deborah Purrett, the headteacher at Saffron Green primary school, said there had been an increase in the number of parents taking their children on holiday during term time.

"It doesn't mean that children are not allowed out of school during term time, but we are strongly discouraging it because of the impact it has on childrens' education."

Mrs Purrett said that even losing an hour could have a damaging effect on a child's education, and that it was difficult for children to catch up after taking time off.

She said headteachers would be understanding when absences were unavoidable, but action would be taken when a child was kept out of school without a good reason.