No prosecution for parents that remove child from school during a pandemic.
100,650 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 10 March 2020; it closed on 10 September 2020. The Government responded on 6 April 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 2 November 2020.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
No prosecution for parents that remove child from school during a pandemic.
Legislate to allow parents to have the option to remove their children from school if there is a pandemic e.g. Coronavirus or similar without negative action by schools or local authorities. They shouldn’t lose the child’s place in the school or face any kind of prosecution.
Professionals do not know enough about the disease to 100% ensure our children and or their familIes are safe. If a child picked it up at school and is a symptomatic will pass it to family that could be old and or vulnerable. As well as many children being vulnerable and having health issues.
We understand the economy of closing all schools but for those parents that are able to do this should be given the option. It’s a safe guarding concern by any parent and should be taken seriously
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 6 April 2020; the petitions site lists the Department for Education as responsible. Its summary:
The Government has introduced emergency legislation in response to the pandemic. The Coronavirus Act 2020 allows a suspension of the duty on parents to secure regular school attendance for their child
The response in full:
The Government has introduced emergency legislation in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Coronavirus Act 2020 allows a suspension of the duty on parents to secure regular school attendance for their child.
From Friday 20 March, schools, colleges and early years settings have been closed to everyone except children of critical workers and vulnerable children, as part of the country’s ongoing response to coronavirus.
In addition, the Government has set out an expectation to local authorities that even those parents whose children are eligible to attend school should not be penalised for absence at this time.
A pupil’s name can only be lawfully deleted from the school admission register in accordance with the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. Grounds for deletion due to absence is met if the absence is unauthorised and at least twenty consecutive days, where there is no reason to believe the absence is due to sickness or any unavoidable cause, and where the school and Local Authority cannot ascertain after reasonable enquiry where the pupil is.
We deem that absence related to the coronavirus pandemic would meet the grounds prescribed. As long as the school knows where a pupil is and why they aren’t attending, there should be no risk of the pupil losing their school place.
Department for Education
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 818, came from Slough.
100,386 of the signatures were from the UK and 264 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Slough | 818 |
| Ilford South | 745 |
| East Ham | 676 |
| Hendon | 633 |
| Barking | 627 |
| Poplar and Limehouse | 626 |
| Ealing North | 619 |
| Feltham and Heston | 612 |
| West Ham | 602 |
| Brentford and Isleworth | 586 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 25,728 |
| South East | 12,989 |
| East of England | 10,375 |
| North West | 9,615 |
| West Midlands | 8,952 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 7,468 |
| East Midlands | 6,731 |
| South West | 5,905 |
| Scotland | 3,487 |
| Wales | 3,072 |
| North East | 2,598 |
| Northern Ireland | 796 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 2 November 2020. Read the debate in Hansard.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/300399.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
b9f5ee9990d4094a… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.