By. Andrew Levy. and Sara Smyth. Parents are being fined £60 if their children are a few minutes late for school in a tough new crackdown on discipline. Two headteachers in the same local authority are believed to be the first to take the action in an attempt to slash truancy rates. The parents of a persistent offender face a £60 fixed penalty – which can be doubled if they fail to pay within 21 days. Fine mess: The headteacher at Emerson Valley School in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, has warned parents they will face fines of £60 if their children are late. Headteachers have been able to impose. financial penalties on the parents of regular truants since 2003, but. Milton Keynes Council has said schools can classify children as skipping. school even if they arrive late. Two schools have adopted the policy, including Emerson Valley School, which was rated inadequate by Ofsted inspectors last year. It. has issued parents with a warning that they will be fined if a child. misses registration ten times in a 12-week term. The school said: ‘The. link between good attendance and pupils achieving well at school is. clear. ‘During the recent. Ofsted monitoring inspection it was noted that “strategies to improve. attendance and punctuality have resulted in a significant increase in. the proportion of pupils who come to school on time”. ‘At. the end of the autumn term 2013, 353 pupils at Emerson Valley School. received certificates for 100 per cent punctuality. This is a big. improvement on previous years and has been achieved through working with. our families.’ School fine: Parents at the school in Milton Keynes will have the fine doubled if they don't pay it promptly (file picture) But the. policy has infuriated some parents. Georgina Hodgkinson, 40, said:. ‘There needs to be a deterrent but I think it puts lots of pressure on. parents and does break the commitment between the school and families. ‘If. you have got, like we have, children in different schools, you are. trying to navigate logistics from one to the other and there  are always. going to be some problems.’ But. another parent, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Kids arriving late. cause disruption and this has made parents sit up and take notice.’ Education experts welcomed the policy, but said it had to be used in the right circumstances. Chris. McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘If the lateness is. wilful and persistent and the school decides there is no other way. forward, then it is justified. ‘But they have to be careful because it can lead to the breakdown of the relationship between the school and parents. ‘There. is also the question of whether social services should be involved to. see what is going on at home. Schools shouldn’t act in isolation on. this.’ Other local authorities are understood to be considering adopting the system to curb the tide of lateness and truancy. Schools. were originally able to impose a £50 penalty but this was increased to. £60 in September 2012 as part of Education Secretary Michael Gove’s. attempt to restore discipline to schools. The. increase came as record numbers of parents were given criminal records. for allowing children to skip lessons. Some 10,185 parents were found. guilty and sentenced in 2012 – a 3.5 per cent rise on the 9,836 the. previous year. In 2001, just 1,845 people were convicted. A. spokesman for Milton Keynes Council said: ‘Our figures show that in the. last academic year, two fixed penalty fines were issued in relation to. persistent late attendance by pupils. In a majority of cases, a warning. letter has proved to be enough to stop the issue.'

Write highlights.
Parents will be fined if their children miss registration 10 times in a term. Education campaigners said fines are a 'step too far' Schools in Milton Keynes are believed to be the first in Britain to fine parents.

Problem: Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes there is something more 'satisfying' than scoring a goal on a football pitch - providing for one. The former Arsenal and Barcelona star has revealed he has always felt more satisfaction having assisted a strike for one of his team-mates than he has when finding the back of the net himself. Spain international Fabregas has enjoyed a wonderful start to life at Chelsea and he will head to Old Trafford with the rest of the Blues squad to take on Manchester United in a key clash on Sunday. Cesc Fabregas (left) has admitted he prefers to assist goals for his team-mates than score them himself. Fabregas appears to have quickly won over the Chelsea fans despite having played for rivals Arsenal before. Fabregas (centre) scored the decisive goal against Crystal Palace following a beautiful move in second half. Fabregas was speaking to Champions, the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League. Fabregas, speaking to Champions, the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League, said: 'Whenever they asked me in interviews if I preferred scoring or providing an assist, I would always say an assist. 'There is nothing quite like scoring a goal. Scoring goals is the most beautiful part of football, but I have always identified myself with and enjoyed providing the final ball. 'Only the people who know how to play the final pass for a goal know what it feels like, and I feel immense joy when a goal is scored from my pass. 'Putting the striker through one-on-one with the keeper is enormously satisfying.' Life at Stamford Bridge appears bright right now for Fabregas, who has scored twice and assisted nine goals in his 11 Premier League and Champions League appearances so far. He has forged a wonderful relationship with striker Diego Costa, with the pair helping Chelsea to the top of the table. But the 27-year-old has admitted it took him a little time to adjust to Blues boss Jose Mourinho's methods - although now he has fully embraced the Portuguese's philosophy and is ready to prosper at the Bridge. He continued: 'At the start I found it tough in training with a coach like Mourinho, who is a bit more imposing. 'Be well-positioned. Drop off. Support the players behind you, do not lose the ball”. (But now) I really like it.' Fabregas (left) and Diego Costa have been two factors in Chelsea's outstanding early season form. Cesc Fabregas has proved an instant hit at Chelsea since joining the club this summer from Barcelona. The Spain international (right) was mesmeric in Chelsea's 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Summarize this article.

Answer:
Chelsea travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday. Cesc Fabregas has scored twice and assisted nine goals this season. Spaniard admits he 'prefers' to assist goals than to score them. Fabregas found Jose Mourinho's training methods 'imposing' at first. But Spain midfielder has learned to 'like' life at Stamford Bridge.