Headteachers should fine parents who don't send their children back to school as a "last resort", Number 10 has said.
Boris Johnson's deputy spokesman said headteachers should seek to discuss pupil absences with the parents in the first instance.
However, fines could be used as a "last resort", Downing Street confirmed.
Earlier on Monday, Schools Minister Nick Gibb warned parents they faced fines if they kept children at home.
He said: "Fines for non-attendance have always been a last resort for headteachers in schools. What matters is that young people are attending school.
“We live in a country where education is compulsory and I think parents can be reassured that the measures that schools are taking to make sure that we minimise the risk of the transmission of the virus are very effective.”
Boris Johnson has begged parents to send their kids back when schools reopen in England next week.
After medics backed the reopening, the PM said the Covid-19 risk to children was “very small”.
Mr Johnson told parents it was “vitally important” to send their kids back to school.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Dr Jenny Harries said that children would be more at risk of flu than of catching Covid-19 at school.
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