Submitted by Lauren Mikkelsen on Thursday 29th January 2026
Published on Thursday 5th March 2026
Current status: Open
Open until: Saturday 5th September 2026
Current Signatures: 43
(count is updated approximately hourly)
Relevant Departments
Tagged with
Child ~ Children ~ Compulsory ~ FINES ~ formal ~ Penalty ~ penalty notices ~ Raise ~ Reception ~ school attendance ~ Unfair ~ Year 1 ~ Year 2
Ban school attendance fines for parents of reception age
Ban fines for parents of reception-age children taking term-time leave Move the "compulsory attendance" fine threshold to the start of Year 1 or Year 2. Currently, a child reaches "Compulsory School Age" the term after they turn five. This creates an unfair "birthday lottery".
We are calling on the Government to revise the rules surrounding school attendance penalty notices for children in their reception year. We urge the Government to raise the threshold at which attendance fines apply to the start of Year 1 or Year 2, aligning legal penalties with the beginning of the formal academic curriculum and national assessments instead of being based on just age.
If you want to sign this petition (as opposed to merely discuss it), you need to do that on the government's e-Petitions website.
216.73.217.17 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 19:37:05 +0100
