Northamptonshire SEND mum continues to battle school fines

SEND mothers continue to battle fines over school attendance Image source, Ant Saddington/BBC Image caption, Jo, a mother of three, has struggled to get her children to attend school By Sam Read , Leighton Buzzard  and  Alex Pope Published 8 hours ago For over four years a group of mothers have been fighting for parents with children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to be exempt from school absence fines. On Tuesday the group, called No School Fines, handed a petition with 290,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street with the support of Motherland actor Anna Maxwell Martin. It called for families with children who have, or were suspected to have, SEND not to be fined and prosecuted when they do not attend school. Parents in England currently have no statutory right of appeal against a school attendance penalty notice. A Department for Education spokesperson said: "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." What impact do the fines have on parents struggling to get their children to attend school? Image source, Supplied Image caption, Jo says two of her sons have a SEND diagnosis and she suspects her youngest son has additional needs Jo, from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, was one of the petition's signatories and has three children, Kai, 15, Josh, 13, and Ben, 10. Jo said her eldest Kai has always struggled with going to nursery and school and has been diagnosed with autism. "Every day became harder and harder to get him in," she said. She said Josh has not been in full-time education for about four years and has ADHD and autism, adding: "He's got really demand-avoidant traits, and he really struggles with the mainstream and the behavioural expectations of being at school." Ben has no official diagnosis but Jo believes he meets SEND needs, adding: "We get to the school gates or I ask him to get out of the car and then that's it, it's a complete shutdown. "I've spent hours and hours in the car park asking for staff to come out to help and to try and get him in. "Then there's other times where we've got him through the door and I've been called to collect him because he hasn't moved. It's exhausting - I'm fighting fires." She said the letters and fines for parents whose children are struggling to attend school were "scaremongering" and just added to their stress. Image source, Press Association Image caption, The No School Fines group is calling for compassion for children and families Gareth Mackey, an Independent councillor and executive member for children and families at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: "We understand that for some children and young people with SEND, attending school can be challenging, and that families can face significant pressures while seeking support, assessments or diagnoses. "Fixed penalty notices are not issued automatically and every case is considered on its individual circumstances. "We are happy to work with any of the petitioners, because we share the same goal, which is to get a better deal for our children." Human cost Image source, Susan Liverman Image caption, Susan Liverman said it was "really empowering and amazing" to hand the petition into No 10 Susan Liverman, from Corby, Northamptonshire, is the co-founder of the group and said she felt compelled to take action as her child was "unable to attend school". "They needed help and support and we were trying to seek that support from various systems and while this was happening to our shock, dismay, horror, we were also being threatened with the prospect of fines if we couldn't get him back into school. "It felt like the system was attacking us. I just felt like this has to stop, this can't happen to further families, but sadly it is." "We really want to highlight the human cost," she added. The group said the campaign was not linked to fines given to families who have taken children out of school for a holiday. Criminalising attendance Image caption, Actor Anna Maxwell Martin was at Downing Street on Tuesday to hand in the petition Actor Maxwell Martin has supported the campaign and said as a single mother she wanted the fines to become a "dinosaur of the past". "It doesn't help anybody, it doesn't help young vulnerable people, it doesn't help their families. "We have children who are grieving, we have children who have so many different struggles on long waiting lists to be seen and while that is the situation we shouldn't be criminalising attendance we should be meeting the needs of children with compassion and care," she added. She said she wanted to make sure families who do not have "any choices or options when things start to go wrong" were helped. Image source, Claire Barrett Image caption, Claire Barrett says it was a "really significant" step to hand the petition into 10 Downing Street Claire Barrett, from Croughton, Northamptonshire, is from a similar campaign group called Not Fine in School, which is supporting the petition. She has a 22-year-old daughter who became ill at 12 and received an autistic diagnosis at 18. At school Barrett said her daughter was "incredibly anxious and was eventually diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and depression". "When you're faced with a young child going through that, it's incredibly difficult, very distressing, your family falls apart. "You're trying to juggle everything, your own job, your own wellbeing, as well as looking after your child, so it's very, very difficult," she said. She said parents wanted their "children to go to school", adding: "The children themselves often want to go to school, they want to be with their peers, they want to be learning, but actually can't leave the house. "Sometimes you might get to the school gates, can't go through the gates, sat parked up in the car, just can't get out of the car, and just such high levels of distress." Clearer guidelines Image source, Supplied Image caption, Maddie Roberts says she wants more support for families where children are refusing to attend school Maddie Roberts, from Sandy, Bedfordshire, who helped start the campaign with Liverman, hoped the government would listen to their concerns. She said the group had become become a voice "for our community and all the other families that are in the situations that we've been in, and to give that bit of hope that we can make a change and we can get protection for our families". "We need clearer guidelines around what support looks like and to stop the fines when that support isn't working," she added. 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". Do you have a story suggestion for Northamptonshire? Contact us below. Get in touch Your Voice Contact form Contact form Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds , Facebook , external , Instagram , external and X , external . Related topics Family & Education Children Leighton Buzzard Central Bedfordshire Council Sandy ADHD Schools Autism Corby Croughton More on this story Motherland star brands school fines 'cruel' Published 4 days ago MP's SEND meeting in Parliament positive, says mum Published 23 July 2025 Mother calls community SEND meeting 'outstanding' Published 27 January 2025 Related internet links Department for Education