Can you flexi school at primary school

[BillywigStings]

...if your child has no special needs?

Like I currently send DS1 to nursery a couple of days a week purely to play with other kids as I worry about him being lonely. I feel like the answer is a definite no, but can this be done at primary school level? Assuming that DS would be keeping up/ahead of the kids in reading and writing ? I know head teacher has to agree, but would I be making a fool of myself even asking? I assume so

Some heads will agree. Most won't like it. Flexi has never been popular with headteachers. I think at the end of the day, many of them genuinely believe that education = school, and the more the better, and that missing any school is inevitably detrimental to a child's learning. And at primary the subjects may not be sufficiently discrete, or rigidly timetabled, to make it easy to separate the subjects to be taught at home from those to be taught at school. In recent years there is the added problem that the DfE has insisted that flexi-schooled children must be marked "absent" rather than, say, "educated off site". That makes the school's attendance statistics look bad.

I wouldn't say you would look like a fool for asking. What you envision is sensible enough. Just don't get your hopes up.

But you do know that you have an absolute right to part-time attendance until your child reaches Compulsory School Age in the term after his fifth birthday? It's in the School Admissions Code. So that would be one, two, or three terms of Reception depending when his birthday falls.

Saracen thank you . It’s something worth asking about then...I had only heard of it spoken of in terms of secondary school, and with sn kids

I think there are many difficulties with flexi schooling at school. I’m a teacher and have aquaintances who HE, I can see why they do it ( I admire them for doing it) but I couldn’t. But i really don’t understand flexi, surely that’s just sitting on the fence? What would your child gain from flexi? Surely if you HE, you can provide all the education and social oppportinities your child needs? If so, then why do you need school? Surely, it’s all or nothing?

Nursery is different, it’s easy for you DC to drop in and out because the activities are stand alone however this is very different in school. I will plan a sequence of lessons. Each lesson of the 5, will provide a building block of learning. If your child always misses lessons 2 and 3 because those are the days you choose to home - Ed, well you see the problem? It’s going to be very difficult for the teacher (I’m biased a little!) to be able to teach and for your child to keep up. You have HE for two days so how do I bridge that gap of those two days of the learning that your child has missed. This of course happens sometimes with illness and of course we manage, but frequently, and ona weekly basis....

How would your child when in school we reference something that happened on one of his ‘home’ days? I guess I wonder if your child would feel excluded if he/she has missed out on activities that happened on days when they weren’t at school. Would they be able to feel properly involved in school life and with friendships?

Not daft to ask. Beyond CSA though it is best to prepare for a no answer unless you look at small fee paying schools.
In general those who I have known with flexischool arrangements (bar health reasons) have found it to be the worst of both worlds. Those who were flexischooling because they felt that full time school didn't fit their child have usually withdrawn their children to home ed. Those who were flexischooling to fit around work have nearly always ended up going full time. Sorry to sound down on the idea, if you don't ask you don't get but I would advise thinking hard about what you are after from arrangement.

Ive heard it’s the authority that say yes or no,some authorities are more open to it than others.It must be to do with funding though,I don’t think schools will get full funding if children aren’t there full time.

Hi Steph, no, it is specifically the headteacher's decision. I've heard of some LAs attempting to forbid headteachers from allowing flexischooling. I can imagine that some heads might find it hard to insist on challenging the LA over it.

Schools do receive full funding for flexischooled pupils.

It's fairly common where I live. 2/3 sets of parents do it with children who have been adopted (which counts as an additional need in Scotland mind you) where there's anxiety/separation anxiety/other theraputic activities to fit into the week and a real sense the school week is too long for the DC. But I know two other families where there's no additional support needs who do it.

I'll follow along with interest, DP and I see the appeal of flexi for our DD, and have wondered about the practicality and the likelihood of permission being granted.