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.

It's not exactly no questions asked - it's pre arranged.
Children in the traveling community can hold a 'green card.' It means they have and attend a base school where their reccords etc are held, but can move around (sometimes enforced moves, sometimes for parents work) and turn up at another school with the card get it stamped, and temporally be educated there.

No, there is not law to stop you deregistering the children, except if they’re in a special school or if SS are involved it can cause complications. But once you deregister your child the school needs to offer that place to anyone on the waiting list. So if there are students on the waiting list, or some apply in the mean time or the LEA place them their under fair access there may not be space for your child when you re apply.

That's interesting. I had no idea that system existed. We live and learn.

@Elleherd I had wondered if something existed but not looked into it, that’s really interesting to know 😊

Just pay the bastard holiday fine, why would you risk your Childs education and place at school?

Just talk to the head and explain what you want to do, no need for a longwinded letter quoting the law at them which is guaranteed to piss them off.

A friend of mine took her two junior school age kids on a 6 month trip around the world, talked to the school about it well in advance, and was confident the older one would almost certainly get back in because they had a few spare places in that year, but that they were taking a gamble on the younger one being able to get back into the school that year. In the end it was fine and both kids got back in and the school were fine with it, because they had been honest from the start.

You don't get to decide that their withdrawal is temporary.

YABU to think that copying and pasting some legislation into a letter will enable/entitle you to circumvent the policies in place, regardless of your view of those policies.

YANBU to deregister your children, YABU to expect the school to hold a place for them and YABVU to - it would appear - take your children out of education to avoid a holiday fine with no apparent intention to provide them with an actual education (I'm pro-homeschooling, but not just so you can go on a jolly and 'educate' your child with a guided tour of the resort and some poolside reading, or whatever you have planned.)

What a pompous email, it sounds like you asked AI 'what happens if' ... the HT would release that space before you'd even taken off for whatever educational trip I'm sure you're trying to make it out to be and then your child has no school place.

You cannot temporarily de-register. You can choose to home educate, but then you’ll need to re-apply for a space. If there’s a waiting list for the school in their year group then your child’s place will be given to the child at the top of the list.

they are going on holiday is what they are doing.

A friend of mine took her son out of Senior school during covid times as she had underlying health issues & high risk for a few months. He had to come 'off role' & reapply to the school, thankfully there was a space. She did actually home educate him & took her responsibility very seriously.

If it is a private school, yes, you can.

Excluding som SEN or SS situations which have their own things going on; There aren't laws preventing you temporally de-registering from the state provided education, taking responsibility, and later abdicating that and re-registering for state provision.

There aren't laws requiring the school to hold open a place for them once you de-register. The LEA becomes responsible for allocating your children a school when you re-register.

Attempting to abuse the Education act for the benefit of holidays and fine avoidance, could see your children on SS CIN register, if someone takes exception, as some red flags fluttering there..

Don’t you have to provide a plan if some sort of you are home educating? Are you actually planning on home educating or is this a holiday?

Private schools are a different ball game and can do all sorts of things. It's why many child actors and sports champions attend them.

This sounds seven kinds of crazy, OP; have you recently received a blow to the head? 🤔

No, you don't have to provide anything.

@KuanKaKu , the second you deregister the place will be offered to the next on the waiting list. Otherwise the school loses funding and a space is wasted that could go to someone who needs it.

Dont think we are going to see the OP back.

As long as you're willing to pay the fees, I suppose so.

OP, I agree with the others that you will be expected to provide evidence of home education and that if the school is oversubscribed they won't hold the place. If you're dead set on sending this letter, I'd change this line at the very least

Please confirm receipt of this notification for your records

to

Please confirm receipt of this notification.

I think you telling the headteacher how to manage their records could be seen as doubly annoying on top of an already annoying letter.

Why?

Thanks again for the replies. I do understand the concerns. However to clarify this is not about avoiding a fine for a holiday. It is about recognising the attendance system we are all working within was made for a society that no longer matches how families live work or travel today.

1. Outdated system versus modern realities
2. The current model assumes parents work fixed hours in one place, that families only travel during the school designated windows, that travel outside those windows is rare and that education must happen in a school building Monday to Friday. That framework may have made sense decades ago but it does not reflect the United Kingdom in 2025.
3. Modern family life global mobility seasonal patterns and real constraints
4. For many families today travel and family time are shaped by real world factors rather than just cost.

Take Spain as a very clear example. Spain welcomed around 85 million international visitors in 2023 which was about a 19 per cent increase on the previous year and which went beyond the pre pandemic figure of 83.5 million in 2019. The income from those visitors reached about 108.7 billion euros. Spain received roughly 17.3 million visitors from the United Kingdom, 11.8 million from France and 10.8 million from Germany. The country is now dealing with overtourism in regions such as Catalonia the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands where residents feel the impact of very high visitor numbers. Spanish authorities have started to bring in measures to spread visitors more evenly across the year and to reduce pressure from intense peaks. Working patterns have also changed. Many parents now work remotely or in hybrid roles or with international teams in different time zones. These jobs do not align neatly with the United Kingdom school calendar and coordinating family time inside the rigid structure becomes extremely difficult. This is not luxury. It is the reality for many modern working families. 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.

1. The legal right to provide education otherwise and the relevance of the 10 day proposal
2. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states parents must ensure their child receives efficient full time education suitable to their age ability aptitude and any special educational needs either by regular attendance at school or by education provided otherwise.

This legal route means ta parent is authorised to provide education outside school when they choose to and still meet their duty. There is currently a call for families to be allowed up to 10 days of term time absence without penalty each year. This mirrors the idea a parent might elect for education otherwise for a short defined period without it being treated as a permanent move out of school. Recent reporting has shown strong public support for this type of flexible approach.

1. School place the 10 day holding period and why this is seen as a loophole
2. In practice parents are aware that a school cannot simply erase a child from its roll the moment they are not in the classroom. There is a period, commonly understood to be around 10 school days, in which the child’s place is effectively held while the absence is clarified and any decision about the roll is made.

From a parent perspective this creates a de facto safety window. If they exercise their right to provide education otherwise and the absence is contained within that same 10 day span, the school is still treating the child as having a place. The child does not instantly lose their place and there is no realistic risk of it being handed to another family inside that time frame. That is why many parents see the combination of Section 7 and this 10 day holding period as a VALID loophole. It allows them to provide education otherwise, for up to 10 days, in a way that is within the law, while the school still has to hold the place. This lines up exactly with the petition request for 10 days of flexible term time absence and shows that the system already contains the shape of a workable middle option. It is just not openly acknowledged or sensibly structured.

1. The absence of any meaningful middle option
2. Currently parents are left with two extremes. They can request authorised absence which is almost always refused unless the circumstances are exceptional. Or they can elect to provide education otherwise under Section 7 which is lawful but is often treated as a major step because of how the school roll and place holding are normally managed.

There is no formal structured option for short term flexi schooling or educational travel aligned with global work and modern family mobility even though the practice around 10 days on the roll shows that the system could support it.

1. The core issue
2. A modern education system in 2025 should reflect how families actually live travel and work. Instead the current attendance framework forces every family into a rigid model that no longer matches the reality. That mismatch is what leads some parents to consider short periods of education otherwise. Not because they want to undermine schools but because the existing system offers no viable alternative.

Until reforms bring the policy into line with real life, it is therefore very possible for families to rely on the lawful option that Section 7 provides and on the practical 10 day window in which the school still holds the place. It is not misuse. It is a rational response to a system that has not kept pace with society.

It isn’t understanding that you need the permission of the headmaster to do this. I was also going to withdraw my children from school for a certain period of time and was made aware of this

Yes, it's not a great letter is it?

to answer your actual question, what I would do if I was a head teacher and received your letter… I would take your child off the register, stick them at the back of the waiting list, fill their space real quick and shrug my shoulders when you waltz back demanding you’re space back. If this is indeed because you want to go on a holiday and avoid fees or something similarity frivolous and not a genuine need to home educate for a period of time such as severe physical or mental health reasons then it is extremely entitled! But I guess I’m petty and that’s why I’m not a teacher!

Wow, that is one long chat GPT blurb if ever I’ve read one