A petition calling for an end to school attendance fines has closed after surpassing 100,000 signatures, triggering automatic consideration for a parliamentary debate. The development places pressure on the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Department for Education, which must justify its stance and outline any prospective reforms.
Petition calls for ban on fixed penalty notices
The petition, initiated by Natalie Elliott, argues that fines and prosecutions do not improve attendance. It states: "We believe school fines and prosecutions do not help to improve school attendance. They are a blunt, ineffective tool and they do not tackle the root cause of attendance difficulties. I'm proposing the law is changed to ban FPNs and prosecutions. This will encourage collaboration rather than punishment."
The petition adds: "FPNs were at a record high in the last full academic year (2024-25) which we believe evidences that they are ineffective and punish families and have become a stealth tax. We feel that the attendance legislation is being abused. It was introduced to tackle persistent absenteeism when parents refused to engage with support. We are seeing schools marking absences which should already be marked as authorised as unauthorised. This includes absences for illness, SEND and family emergencies. The attendance drive is driving a wedge between school and home."
Government defends current system
The Department for Education issued an official statement confirming the system remains in place because parents are legally obliged to ensure their children attend school. It said: "The Government has no plans to ban fixed penalty notices (FPNs) or prosecutions for non-attendance. Both measures are important in influencing parental behaviour in cases where support has been exhausted, not engaged with or is not appropriate, such as in the case of term-time holidays."
The statement continued: "Attendance data for unauthorised absence in the 2024-25 academic year showed our approach is having a positive impact, as the proportion of absence due to unauthorised holiday fell from 0.53% in 2023/24 to 0.48% in 2024/25 and the overall rate of absence fell by 0.37 percentage points. 93% of penalty notices issued in 2024-25 were for unauthorised term-time holidays, which shows that FPNs are being used primarily in circumstances where support is not appropriate, as intended by the national framework introduced in August 2024."
Fines and exemptions
The penalty for unauthorised absences nationwide stands at £80 if settled within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days. For repeat offences, parents receiving a second fine for the same child within any three-year timeframe will automatically be charged at the elevated rate of £160.
However, the Department for Education acknowledged that certain circumstances will not result in fines: "The Government recognises that there are circumstances in which a pupil is unable to attend school for a legally recognised reason. The Education Act 1996 sets out the situations in which an absent pupil will not be taken to have failed to attend school regularly, including illness or other unavoidable circumstances, religious observance, where the school has given prior permission for absence, or where the local authority has not fulfilled any duty it has to help the child attend."
