Parents who take their children out of school for family holidays are blamed for pushing Pembrokeshire's truancy figures above the Welsh average.

A school has the power to allow children ten days off a year for holidays, although some headteachers are reluctant to give permission.

When holidays exceed this limit a child's absence is marked as unauthorised and it enhances truancy tables.

In 2004/05 there was a 1.7% truancy rate in Wales but in Pembrokeshire it was slightly higher at 1.76%, compared to 1.7% last year.

Parents are now being urged to put their children's schooling before term-time holidays.

Any holiday that exceeds the permitted ten days can adversely affect a child's education, insisted Pembrokeshire County Council. Its cabinet member for children and young people, Councillor Islwyn Howells, said the problem was worrying schools.

"Schools are concerned at the increasing number of family holidays during the school term and would ask parents to consider very carefully taking holidays during school time, especially during years ten and 11,'' he said.

Councillor Howells stressed that it was important for parents to provide a note explaining why their child was absent, for whatever reason.

"The schools do their utmost to follow up unauthorised absence but ultimately it is the responsibility of the parents to provide adequate medical evidence of their children's absence from school,'' he said.

Truancy in general is an on-going issue. Each family of schools has a pupil support officer who writes to or visits parents when a child's attendance falls below the legal requirement. So-called 'truancy sweeps' have revealed parental collusion in some cases.

Pembrokeshire County Council warned it could prosecute parents if they persistently failed to send their children to school, although this approach is seen as a last resort.