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.

Children of the travelling community have some of the worst educational outcomes. Please don't pretend your children are at the same disadvantage.

I'm sure the OP would have told the LLM to tell us were the OP a Traveller. Schools have specific registration arrangements for Traveller children & specific absence codes to reflect travel & attendance at other schools.

Hang on though, having a fixed school in one place with fixed school holidays does work for most people (SEN needs aside) in that the child gets a decent education in a familiar environment with their friends, a teacher who knows them well and in a community that is normally close to where they live. That should be the measure of education, not whether you get to go skiing.

If you don’t like it then of course there is the option of home education.

Can you explain how the system you’re apparently advocating would work? For example-

• how would the school know, on a Monday morning, how many kids are going to turn up (and how many are skiing being home educated/ with their global nomad family)?
• how many classrooms are needed?
• how many teachers? What languages should they speak? How will they know what the kids can do?
• how would the LEA know how to fund the school;
• how would the LEA/ central government check whether children are getting an education at all- it would be so easy for kids to fall through the cracks;
• ditto what about safeguarding? School can be the only constant in a child’s life. If any parent can temporarily de-register an important link to protect abuse is lost (note in the tragic Sara sharif case the school did make reports);
• how can children build friendships and meaningful relationships with teachers and have fulfilling hobbies?

If what you’re saying is parents should be allowed to take their kids on holiday in term time with certain conditions then say so, Personally i think it just makes teaching harder and causes kids to fall behind. But don’t make out that the whole system is wrong/ outdated and needs replacing with a drop in crèche for older kids just because you’d like to go on holiday.

So all this de registering for a holiday? Just go on holiday in the days that school are closed. If you want to home school, just home school. Stop with your shit letter because you want to save a few grand on a holiday.

There's nothing worse than text filled with terms that the writer doesn't even understand.

Why is wanting to enable change foolish? Surely accepting the status quo is actually the foolish option, the evidence the current system does not work is huge! Politicians want to ignore that for ease…school absences are complex and more deserving of a considered rather than blanket policy. We as educators, parents, pupils all deserve better

Except that's not progress, it's simply not putting the child's educational needs first, and ensuring their educational arrangements are in line with systems (including unschooling!) that will work for the child.

Chopping and changing in a way that knowingly damages the child's education is not in the best interests, and it's incumbent on the parent to ensure whatever they are doing is organized around the child's educational needs.

Traveling children with a Green Card are engaged in literal cultural learning that cannot be provided other than within the community and hands on experiance at specific times and places.

Private schools are able to cater to individual tailored plans to allow individual children time away without long term damage to their school based learning, partly because of staff numbers and dedicated educational pastoral care.

On line schools are able to cater for children trailing working parents abroad and indeed any parent seeking something more flexible, but not in a bricks and mortar placement. Their nature, means work can be undertaken at any hour, any where.

State schools are geared to a specific way of mass pile it high, lower teacher numbers, and pastoral care being less educational and more personal, and generally aren't geared up to be able to provide for time off without damage to the educational plans, any more.

I'm all for flexibility and home ed (we are a home ed family) but this was fought for by the genuine home ed community for specific reasons, mainly to do with actual well being, and stopping LEA's and schools plundering funding that no longer belonged to them, and was being applied for on behalf of their children.

Pupil Registration Regulations new changes: August 19, 2024
School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

Parents must give reasonable written notice of intent and a set date of removal.

A school must delete a pupil's name from the admission register when receiving written notification from the parent or guardian that the child will receive education otherwise than at school and "that day has passed".

The law doesn't explicitly state deletion must occur the next school day, but are on shaky legal ground if they do not remove the child's name from the roll once the specified "last day" of attendance has passed. (assuming no SEN stuff, or School Attendance Orders)
The law does not provide for any ten day period or cooling off period, precisely because it would contradict the legal grounds for deletion off the roll.

IANAL. I am a parent who went to court to stop the school keeping a DC's name illegally on roll so they could keep getting the child's AWPthat they where not entitled to.

So - start a proper campaign, perhaps became a School Governor. Maybe a Local Councillor or stand for Parliament as an MP.
Better than sending that letter to the HT, which won't have any impact on the education system whatsoever.

People are trying to campaign through the available routes (petitions) finding legal loopholes may just give the issue the push it needs to be given better consideration in parliament

What would you like to happen OP? In respect of how schools keep children on their roll/parents can remove children at any time and put them back on again etc. What should the rules be?

No, it really won't. For the reasons pp have explained on this thread.
There is no possibility of "Flexi" schooling to suit people's holiday choices.

The same reasons as the able bodied community must accept not getting disabled parking spaces provided,

Resources are limited, and it is only reasonable for it to be 'favorable' when it is meeting a genuine need, not a want.

What would I do?
Well firstly I’d be pretty offended that you had quoted the law /sections of the law at me like I wasn't familiar with them, when it was literally my job to know what they were.
Then I would probably write back reminding you that sadly we cannot ignore or abuse laws just because we don’t agree with them, society doesn’t work like that!
I would also say that you are perfectly within your rights to withdraw your child at any time but that obviously I cannot guarantee that there will be places available for them when you decide you’d like to grace my school with your presence again (in a slightly more polite tone) !! Sorry, but you did ask….

Because you're not a Traveller & the options aren't remotely "favourable", Traveller & Roma kids have some of the worst educational outcomes in the UK. That is the purpose of school remember - the advancement of your children's education.

why should we WANT to change?

It's my own kids interest to have as little disruptions as possible in already busy schools, the last thing they need is for teacher to play catch-up for those whose parents fancy themselves as special or "free".

Homeschool if you like, employ private tutors according to your own schedule, by all means.

The system is not great now, but what you suggest and letting people leave and come back as they feel like it is going to make things even worst.

I would campaign for a fine, but also forcing parents to pay for private tutors at school to catch up with all the schooling they've lost without affecting the other kids.

Homeschool, use private school, private teachers, you have endless options.
Bringing chaos to the current school system is not acceptable.

You are coming across as annoying, entitled and obtuse. There are many things in life that we feel could be changed to accommodate our particular whims and preferences. Most people are mature enough to realise that individual wishes shouldn't and cannot override institutional rules and policies that provide the framwork to govern things like school education that affect multitudes of people. Just grow up.

Just because something about the way society is organised doesn't suit how you personally would like to live does not mean the whole system and legal structures around it needs burning down OP.
Most people are grateful for a good local school place, most people with children stay in one place, most people want their children to attend school regularly, most people see the benefits of consistency, routine, and being in the same place for children and prioritise that over whether they personally would like drop everything and to jet around the world doing x, y and z whenever they fancy.
Many people travel for their jobs and for other reasons but realise it doesn't particularly benefit kids to always be dragged along, and so arrange their lives accordingly.
Withdraw your kids from school and home educate them if you want, do so while travelling the world if you want - all of that is your right. But you don't want that, you want it both ways, and unfortunately no headteacher will reserve a valuable school place for a kid who isn't there, when it could be used to help another child who wants and needs it and intends to actually be present in school. And rightly so.

So ‘we’ as the non travelling community have fewer options available to us! If the system can support alternative ways of life such as this it can also break the mould on term time attendance and the current one size fits all system

Bloody iphone changing words

you get the gist of what I meant

what some parents do to try and not a pay a fine

the evidence the current system does not work is huge!

How, and for whom, does the current system not work? Please do bring us in on the stats. Obviously things can always be improved but it does work for the vast majority of people.

And what are you suggesting as an alternative? Ad hoc de-registering and forcing schools to hold places? How would this be better? Have you seen it work in another country, for example?

the current system already doesn't have enough funding. It's not realistic to expect individual plans and arrangements to suit YOU.

Go private, you have so many options, but expecting freedom to waltz on holiday when you feel like it is ridiculous and you know it. But who cares, it's all about YOU?

You're not that special. You're not making the clever points you think you are.

The Headteacher would read the email, roll her eyes and bin it.

Who says it's progress to have children randomly out of school in ones and twos in term time?

So ‘we’ as the non travelling community have fewer options available to us! If the system can support alternative ways of life such as this it can also break the mould on term time attendance and the current one size fits all system