To invoke the ‘otherwise’ option for school absence?

[KuanKaKu]

AIBU to send this letter in and request temporary de-registration?
WWYD if you are a Headteacher and received this?
Dear Headteacher,
I am writing to inform you that for the period xxx 2026 to xxx 2026 inclusive, my children, [Child’s Name(s)], will be receiving their education otherwise than at school, in accordance with Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, which places the legal duty for securing a suitable education on me as the parent.
Section 7 states that:
“The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.”
During this period I will be exercising the “otherwise” option. As such, my children will not be attending school between these dates. You may therefore treat them as temporarily deregistered for this period, as their education is being lawfully provided by me.
This is not a permanent withdrawal. My intention is for them to return to school-based provision on xxx 2026.
For clarity:
Parents are the duty-holders under Education Act 1996 s.7 with the right to elect for education “otherwise”.
Elective Home Education does not require the school’s permission (DfE Elective Home Education Guidance, 2019).
Temporary periods of home education are legally valid where the parent is providing suitable education under s.7.
Compulsory school attendance requirements under s.444 apply only where the parent is relying on school attendance to discharge the s.7 duty, which is not the case during this period.
Please confirm receipt of this notification for your records.

Why would you want to faff about this much and create loads of admin? As if schools don’t have enough to do. This feels quite elaborate for a cheaper holiday.

You’d be better off talking to your MP.

I taught in private schools for fifteen years. Have also taught in state schools.
It’s funny, attendance was not really a problem in private schools. Very few parents will book a holiday in term time. In fact, genuinely, I can’t remember a single instance of that happening. I really can’t imagine why.

Well, when you're paying a not insignificant sum for your child to be there, you're not going to want to lose value for money. You're also more likely to be able to afford peak season costs for holidays.

Exactly this!

and the poll results indicate that actually society has not changed the way you imagine it has!

Let’s imagine, for a moment, that the flexibility the OP desires is in place. That means that for every school in the country, there is flexibility for any parent(s) to remove their child(ren) for a specified or unspecified amount of time.

So, on one Monday morning in October, a class of nominally 30 children has 17 in class, because 13 are absent. On Tuesday, 5 return and 3 are absent. On Wednesday, 6 more return. They’ve been off for varying amounts of time.

Leaving aside the variation in the ability and progress of every cohort, how is any school, or any individual teacher, going to plan, monitor and evaluate what those children are learning p, what progress they are making and how to measure all of that in line with government edicts.

Oh, by the way, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, so 5 out of the 15 teachers are having their holidays this week too.

Everyone knows that the education system is underfunded, under resourced and often under appreciated. Everyone knows that it needs more money, more training, more access for SEND in particular. I hope everyone knows that the majority of schools, colleges and teachers do their best for the young people in their care, under a system that is stretched to the thinness of tissue. Please tell me OP, how your notion is going to make a positive difference to that.

My DD is at a private school that specializes in offering children who need time out of school for things like high level sporting events etc.

It’s all very structured and the children who need this type of schooling have their whole curriculum individually designed around their specific schedule and interests.

We’re not in the UK so they are working towards graduation and a GPA so don’t have to worry about a national curriculum or exam periods.

But absolutely no one takes time out of term for family holidays!

YANBU to take them out of school.
YABVU to expect your choice of school to hold places open for them.
They won't. They would not be funded to keep them empty, and if another child wants the place while yours are away then of course they will be given it, not by the school but by the education authority.
When you want to put them back in the system you will be allocated places that are available. These may not be at that school, or indeed at the same school as each other.
Also, the letter is hugely pompous. The head teacher will know the law in as far as it involves them, which is that on receipt of your written notification to deregister your children they must do so from the end of the school day you specify, even if it is today.
That's it.
Other staff may not know, or may lie about knowing (yes from first hand experience) but the Head will know, and will be in contact with the education authority.

What is the waiting list like for your school ?
It is risky and you need to be prepared to find new schools on your return (potentially different schools if you have more than one child - nightmare logistically!) Is it worth it. Pay the fine !

I worked in a school that did exactly this. Parents took their child abroad for a month and were warned it could happen.
It did !
He went to another school as his place was filled .

Your first post isn't clear or concise and won't make a good impression. I hope it is a chatGP note or bot work and not your own best effort. Its style suggests that home-education (in some subject areas) might not be a good option for your child!

Yes, you can take your children out of school … and the school can fill their places with other children.

When you return from your holiday, you will need to keep home-educating until school places can be found. They might be placed in other schools.

Being restricted on holiday-time is a pain but 'free' education is shared. Staffing levels are too low to allow for the sort of individual support that would be required if everyone did as you plan to.

This with knobs on - well said!!

The OP’s post is probably the most foolish and entitled post I’ve ever read on MN - perhaps OP missed a lot of her education too.

You seem to be making two completely different points

1. we should return to the ‘10 days off a year’ rule we had before because constant penalising parents for wanting affordable holidays isn’t working - yes, completely agree
2. The education system doesn’t fit with modern families and so we should be able to educate at any time however we like - you cannot possibly think this achievable or even desirable for the vast majority of children

The education system ‘doesn’t fit modern families’ because it isn’t for the families, it’s for the CHILD. It provides consistency, safety and a broad and balanced curriculum (for most). Children’s right to this is enshrined in law. Attendance rules are clumsily applied but the exist to stop families from failing their children in this regard because they cant be arsed getting out of bed/think the rapture is comimg any day/do not believe in educating girls.

i think there is a middle ground to be found where schools can work better with modern working patterns. Certainly we have to do less ‘behind desks’ learning. But the idea that you should be able to randomly off roll your child because you fancy a sabbatical trekking round Europe is childish nonsense. Children need stability and a planned progression for their learning. How on earth would schools function? I love how you arrogantly suggest the traveller community have a better deal as if their children aren’t consistently identified as at risk of poor outcomes. (And outcomes doesn’t just mean ‘sats results’)

If you genuinely believe in learning outside the classroom, outside of 9-3 and away from desks then homeschool. Homeschooling works specifically because most families have small numbers and so can adapt to the very specific needs of their own children. It is not a model for state education.

But you don’t genuinely believe in this. You are annoyed that your child’s RIGHT to an education makes it tricky for you to go travelling.

Seasonal and climate factors also affect some travel. For example reliable snow in the northern hemisphere now tends to fall later and less predictably than in previous decades. This means some families cannot fit certain activities into the narrow half term week without overlapping with term time. This is not about extravagance. It is about how travel timing and seasons have shifted.

The above makes your whole argument laughable. Schools should change their entire way if functioning because posh white people find that the skiing just isn’t as good in Feb half term any more? Piss off.

Some people said why don't private school parents take their children out of school- one obvious reason is they have shorter terms and longer holidays, so are able to holiday out of peak season of state school terms, so not only are they getting a private education, they have cheaper holidays as well!

If you want to change the system, there will be more effective ways than sending one school one letter. At the moment schools are set up to expect a certain level of attendance by a certain number of registered children, not to keep mixing and matching whatever children happen to be available.

I'm sure that was a rhetorical musing.

In our LA they would give your place to the next person on the waiting list.

You are either registered or not.

They withdraw places after a certain number of unauthorised absence days too.

All ok if your school is not oversubscribed, you can just reapply and rejoin.

Not everything has a “law” or needs one. It may just be school policy to not allow temporary de-registration. It’s unreasonable to expect them to hold the spot.

I do think it would be amazing if it was possible to have a complete rethink about how education was delivered.

To sit down and examine from scratch why we do the things we currently do and whether that’s the best way to do it.

But so much is bound up in how we’ve organised the rest of society and fluctuating economic conditions, alongside the need to deliver consistent, fair, measurable outcomes that it’s hard to make any significant changes.

Is Monday to Friday best?

Is a 9am start the best for all ages?

Is the length of the school day the best for the child?

What about shorter in classroom school days but year round school and not one big summer break?

And that doesn’t even touch whether the curriculum is the best approach for growing a successful adult.

Although I’m not sure that’s the conversation the OP was aiming for.

Being a Traveller isn't really about choosing a 'certain way of life's though. It's a culture and as such, different rules apply.

@KuanKaKu Imagine being a parent and thinking a cheap term-time holiday is more important than your children's education. 🙄

You are not changing the rules by trying to get around them. You are wasting tax payers money as you wouldn’t believe the amount of time it takes to off roll and unroll a child. If you want to campaign for a change then do so. Don’t mess about and lie to the school and school staff and also make your child lie. You will look stupid and ridiculous to the staff that you expect to teach your child.

I would be writing to complain if I was on the waiting list, desperate for a place, and a place was being held vacant for someone who had de-registered.

And what about the cost to the school? No funding for a de-registered child but all the costs and overheads remain the same.

Where are you getting this 10 day holding period from? Section 7 doesn't say anything about that and is just saying parents must ensure the suitable education of their children either at school or otherwise.

Totally agree. if someone asked me along these lines about this I would tell them they were selfish and a bit of a twat thinking rules don't apply to them.

This. A deregistration instruction is to be actioned immediately; some schools may suggest a 10 day cooling off period but this is by no means a blanket policy and certainly shouldn't be relied on. Fewer and fewer schools are offering a cooling off period recently - possibly because people were using it as a holiday loophole.

Blimey what in the chatgpt is this