How to deregister a child in the UK

If you’ve made the decision to home educate your child in the UK, there’s a process you need to go through if your child is already at school. BBC Bitesize has the information on your legal position as a parent and how you can deregister your child.

Before doing that, it’s worth making sure you’ve fully considered home education: what it is, how you’ll go about it and that it’s the right thing for you and your child.

Under UK law, you are obligated to have your child in full-time education from the age of five. You can choose where and how that education takes place (for example, in a school setting, at home, with a tutor, at an outdoors-based school) as long as it’s deemed ‘efficient’, ‘suitable’ and ‘full time’. To explain what that means, Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states:

“The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.”

Elective home education (EHE) is classed as a form of ‘education otherwise than at school’. Your duty as a home educator is therefore to make sure your child receives a suitable education which will allow them to achieve their potential and lead an independent adult life in modern society.

If you want to deregister your child from school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the current government advice is: if your child is already at school, you should tell the headteacher if you plan to remove them and home educate them, including if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) at a mainstream school. This will avoid any future confusion about how you’re educating your child.

Include a date for when your child will leave the school in your letter or email, and try to get a receipt of notification. The headteacher will then inform your local authority (LA) about your deregistration and the LA will likely contact you to understand more about your education plans.

In Scotland, if your child goes to a public school, you must get consent from the local authority before withdrawing them:

• write to them as early as you can with the date you wish to withdraw your child

• outline how you intend to provide “an efficient and suitable education” for your child

• if you want to explain why you wish to home educate your child, you can, but you’re under no obligation to do so

If your child is in school due to a school attendance order (issued by a council if they think a child is not getting an education, either at home or at school), then you must get permission from your local council before you can home educate them.

If your child attends a special school and this was arranged by a local authority, you must contact them to get permission. The LA will then discuss your home education plans and check they’re satisfactory before they approve the deregistration. They’ll discuss any concerns with you and try to find the best way forward for your child.

If your child is at a mainstream school, follow the advice in the section above.

If your child has never been enrolled at a school, there’s no legal obligation for you to inform the LA. However, the Department for Education (DfE) strongly recommends you do notify them, so you can access advice and support if you need it.

If you’re unsure whether you wish to home educate your child long-term, you may consider temporarily deregistering them from school, although according to the Department for Education (DfE): “There is no provision in law for a ‘trial period’ of home education”.

The process would be the same as deregistering your child permanently, but be aware:

• Your child’s school cannot hold their school place. If your child currently attends a fully-subscribed school, once they’re deregistered you may not be able to get them a place back at the same school.

• If you wish to re-register your child at school after a period of time, your LA will allocate them a school place, but it may not be one of your preferred choices.

• You’ll lose access to school apps and resources unless you can come to an arrangement directly with the school’s headteacher.

Instead of deregistering their child completely, some parents take a ‘hybrid’ approach, where their child is in school part time, and educated at home part time. This can be a short-term measure or longer term.

This approach, usually called ‘flexi-schooling’, is at the discretion of your child’s school (and LA in Scotland), and the headteacher is under no obligation to approve such an arrangement.

Some of the reasons a school and parent may come to a flexi-schooling agreement include:

• illness

• a gradual return after an absence

• emotionally-based school avoidance (EBSA)

• pursing special abilities such as sport, music and/or competitions

• a balance between home education and subjects they want their child to learn at school

Once you’ve received confirmation of your child’s deregistration, the next stage is over to you. You’ll need to effectively plan your time and resources so you can provide an appropriate education for your child. If your local authority is happy with your home education set-up, they’ll continue to check in with you annually.

The BBC Bitesize home education collection is designed to support you and your child’s learning at home with free resources for early years and foundation stage (EYFS), primary and secondary-age students.

Bitesize Parenting is the go-to place for the whole parenting community to find stories, expert advice and fun activities.

If your child has special educational needs and / or disabilities, be sure to check out the Parenting SEND collection. Bitesize also has a collection of Sensory Stories, an immersive video series that transports you on unique sensory adventures, for children with additional or complex needs.

For more information about home education, these BBC News articles cover the rise in families deciding to educate their children at home and, from 2021, the impact of Covid on home education.