A petition to ban fines and prosecutions for school non-attendance has reached nearly 140,000 signatures.

The petition was closed on Thursday last week, after having amassed 138,457 signatures.

It calls for a change of school attendance legislation, arguing that fines and prosecutions ‘are a blunt, ineffective tool’ which fail to address the root cause of issues with attendance.

Citing the record high of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued last year, the petition proposes that they are used to ‘punish families and have become a stealth tax’.

It argues that attendance legislation is being abused, with absences that should have been marked as authorised being deemed unauthorised by schools in some cases – including absences for illness, SEND & family emergencies, the petition states.

‘The attendance drive is driving a wedge between school and home’, it reads. It also suggests that the move will promote collaboration instead of penalties.

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A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘Every child deserves a high-quality education, and that begins with being in school. Term-time holidays accounted for the vast majority of penalty cases, which place the burden on teachers to support missed learning and affect the entire class.

‘We are playing our part to support those children who face barriers to attending school, and this is making a difference. Since setting our attendance target, we have recovered 4.4 million days in school, and are working with parents, schools, local authorities and health services to go further.

‘Alongside this, fixed penalty notices continue to have a vital place in our system, so everyone is held accountable for ensuring children are in school.’