Petition to stop fines for school absence handed in

A petition with more than 290,000 signatures has been handed into Downing Street calling for families of children with suspected special education needs and disabilities (SEND) not to be fined and prosecuted when pupils do not attend school.

The campaign was started in 2022 by Susan Liverman, from Corby, Northamptonshire, and Maddie Roberts, from Sandy, Bedfordshire.

The No School Fines group has the support of Anna Maxwell Martin, the Motherland and Ludwig actor, who said the current system was "cruel and unnecessary".

A Department for Education spokesperson said it was "taking action to transform the system".

Maxwell Martin said fining and prosecuting families "doesn't work in improving attendance figures".

"What does improve outcomes for young people facing difficulty is meeting their needs at the point of need," she said.

Liverman started the petition when her son Arthur was unable to go to school due to extreme anxiety and panic attacks.

"As a parent, it felt like we were falling between the cracks between systems – and the stress of realising we could be fined as a family just worsened a situation that was already impacting my own mental health," she said.

"That was five years ago, and I can still remember the feelings of fear and shame – and promising myself that I would do my best to stop this from happening to other families."

Roberts was unable to get her son Harleigh into school when he began to suffer from anxiety.

"There is so much pressure when absences are unauthorised," she said.

"There is nowhere to go. You're just lost. You feel like you're failing as a parent."

School absence fines in England rose from £60 to £80 in 2024, and a parent who receives a second fine for the same child within a three-year period receives a £160 penalty.

If the child is off school three or more times during the same period, parents may be taken to court and they risk a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence.

A Department for Education spokesperson said that with a £4bn investment it was "taking action to transform the system – backing schools to improve inclusion, widening access to specialist support and rolling out training for every teacher".

They added: "Whilst fixed penalty notices continue to have a vital place in our system, schools should take a support-first approach for children who are facing barriers to regular school attendance."

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