HEAD teachers in Blaenau Gwent will be asked to refuse requests for holidays during term-time, as of September this year.

And Newport and Torfaen councils are also toughening up on term-time breaks , with some Newport schools issuing guidance to parents as part of end-of-term newsletters.

A spokeswoman for Newport council confirmed that parents do not have the automatic right to withdraw their child from school and said that a ten-day discretionary period of absence, which head teachers can authorise, should not be used for holidays.

Monmouthshire council refers to Welsh Government guidelines, while a spokeswoman for Caerphilly council said their education team will be reviewing the matter over the coming months.

In a statement Blaenau Gwent council said research shows that missing 17 days of a school a year, an attendance rate of 91 per cent, can result in a drop of one GCSE grade across all subjects.

"Blaenau Gwent schools are open to pupils on 190 days of the year which leaves another 175 days for holidays and visiting family," said the statement.

"The policy on extended holidays has now been withdrawn and families are requested to make arrangements to take these in the six-week break in July and August."

Fixed penalty notices for parents who do not stop their children from truanting will be issued in Blaenau Gwent from September 2013.

"The protocol is currently being drafted but fixed penalty notices may be issued for unauthorised absence, children stopped during truancy patrols and holidays term-time," said the statement.

Welsh Government guidelines from 2010 state that parents "should not normally take pupils on holiday in term time" and must apply in advance.

Each request for holiday absence should be considered individually, and schools should invite parents to discuss any proposed holiday in term time.

The schools can only agree to absence for a family holiday, or an absence of more than 10 school days, if they believe there are special circumstances.

"Pupils who fail to return to school within 10 days of the end of extended leave of absence may be deleted if both the school and local authority fail to locate them and they do not have a good reason to be absent," said the advice.

A pupil who takes ten days holiday in an academic year can only gain 94.7 per cent attendance in primary schools, versus 93.8 in secondary schools.