Please sign our flexischooling petition!

[flexischoolingUK]

Flexischooling is an arrangement where a child of compulsory school age is registered at school full time, but the school agrees the child can be educated at home for part of the week. Flexischooling is a full time education, just like full time school or full time home education. This is a legal option in England, Scotland and Wales, but isn’t very well known (even in schools).

In England and Wales, flexischooling, if agreed, is marked as Code C, authorised absence. The trouble with this is that code C still
affects the school’s attendance data, which can put schools off agreeing. Before 2019, Code B (educated offsite) was allowed and this code did not negatively impact attendance data.

In December 2024, the head of Ofsted, Sir Martyn Oliver, voiced the concern in his end of year report, that we have no way of knowing how many children are being flexischooled, as Code C is a generic authorised absence code, and it is impossible to differentiate between flexischooling absences and other authorised absences.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill proposes that flexischooling be managed by LAs. This seems like an inefficient and costly duplication of oversight and data retention, as flexischooling children are already registered at school full time, seen in school on a weekly basis, and schools are already recording attendance of flexischooling pupils on a twice daily basis!

We believe our proposal makes more sense logistically and financially. For schools to continue to manage flexischooling arrangements, but for a specific flexischooling code to be used (Code F) giving the government quantifiable data on the number of flexischooling children. Ideally, this code would not impact attendance data, as flexischooling pupils are legally receiving a full time education and it seems unnecessary for schools to be penalised for agreeing to a flexischooling arrangement in the best interests of a child. This is the current system in Scotland, flexischooling has no negative impact on attendance data.

We are aiming to reach 10,000 signatures to get a response from the government, but more than 10,000 would be a fantastic testament to the interest in flexischooling. We currently have at least 1 signature in all but 5 constituencies in the whole of the UK! It would be absolutely amazing to be able to say that every constituency in the UK had signed.

We are currently missing a signature in Nah-Eileanan an lar in Scotland, and 4 constituencies in Northern Ireland:

Mid Ulster - Mr Cathal Mallaghan MP

East Antrim - Rt Hon Sammy Wilson MP

Lagan Valley - Sorcha Eastwood MP

Belfast West - Paul Maskey MP

Whilst this petition isn’t directly aimed at Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, signatures from these countries do count and the petition data will be available even after the petition ends, and could be used to demonstrate the high levels of interest in flexischooling in these countries.

And of course, if every single constituency signs, that’s a statement everyone in the UK can use, that this petition demonstrates the universal support for flexischooling in the UK, with every single constituency having signed! 🤞

Please consider taking 2 minutes to sign and verify your email (please check your junk/spam folder) as unverified emails do not count.

Thank you!

Happy to answer any question regarding flexischooling 🙂

Flexischooling petition link

So, I was a bit alarmed to see so much misunderstanding about flexischool and about this petition, and to read so much hate directed at people who advocate flexischooling, as well. I mean, I’ve seen disagreements before but going straight to insults and attacks on each comment was… pretty new. But anyway… I just wanted to say, I don’t think the petition is asking schools to offer flexischooling to everyone. It’s simply asking for a separate attendance code where a formal flexischool arrangement already exists. That just means accurate records, not unauthorised absence labels for children doing what the school and parent agreed to.

I know this raises many questions like, what is flexischooling? Is it fair? If it’s so good for children, why should mine not get this? Or even worse, am I doing something wrong by not looking into this and getting it for my child? etc.

Well, not at all. Flexischooling is just one tool which is not better or worse than full-time school, just different. For some families, it’s the only way their child stays in education. It’s formally agreed, overseen by the school, and doesn’t affect funding or attendance stats… Well, at least, it shouldn’t, because they are authorised absence. But as we all know, under the current attendance rules, even authorised absences work against a school, and this is why we need this petition.

Here’s the part that often gets missed: ironically, not recognising flexischooling properly doesn’t just affect those families, it affects everyone, including yours who might be attending full-time ever so diligently.

If children who are legally flexischooled are still marked as unauthorised absentees, it damages attendance data. That leads to schools being scrutinised unfairly, and policies becoming tighter across the board, which makes life harder even for families who are doing full-time school without issue.

So if your child goes in every day, behaves well, works hard, my first thought is: how lucky you are that you’ve never had cause to explore something like flexischooling.

My second thought is: this petition protects your child too, and you, the parent who’s worked hard to make full-time school a good fit for them.

And third: this is a chance to choose inclusion. To recognise that not all children are the same, and not all families face the same realities, through no fault of their own. Some children need flexischooling just to stay afloat in a system not built for them. If we believe in building a compassionate society, then we make space for those who need difference, not just celebrate those who can manage sameness.

I mean, if we are being honest, we know how horrible and harsh the ‘real world’ can be and so what many of us really when we say ‘what is the best for my child’ is to raise them so they don’t end up being the worst off in this ‘every man for himself’ kind of world. We breathe a sigh of relief when our child isn’t the one falling behind. But wouldn’t it be better to build a world where even the ones who struggle most can still thrive?

This isn’t having your “cake and eating it.”
It’s more like, some kids bring in a packed lunch because school dinner doesn’t suit them. It’s not fancier, just what works.
Saying, “Well if they’ve got a sandwich, I want two puddings!” doesn’t create fairness (sounds a lot like my toddler’s logic, actually 😆). It just makes the system less flexible for everyone.

This petition isn’t about special treatment. It’s about accuracy, transparency, and protecting all children’s right to be seen clearly, all the things which I hope Mumsnet users can easily identify with and champion. Why? Because we’re mums and fighting for our children’s rights and what’s best for them is what we’re here to do! ❤️❤️❤️

This is the flexischooling request process.

Step 1: A parent will write a formal flexischooling request letter to the headteacher, with supporting information and requesting a face to face meeting to discuss the request. The letter will usually include the days and times the parent wishes to flexischool.

Step 2: The headteacher and the parent will meet to discuss the request. The headteacher is likely to have lots of questions for the parent on how the arrangement will work. The headteacher should have an idea of the timetable for each class (particularly as they are often responsible for writing them). In some schools, the headteachers request medium term planning from the teacher, so should have a good idea of how the times the parent has requested would impact the timetable at school.

The headteacher may agree to the arrangement at the parents proposed times, or may suggest an alternative, such as an afternoon the class have PE, and ask the parent to include some form of physical education in their home learning, or RE which parents can legally withdraw from.

If the parent does need to liaise with the class teacher, this can happen in the usual way - a quick word at the end of the day one day, or parents evening, etc.

Part of the job of teaching is liaising with parents, whether they have a flexischooling arrangement or not. There are lots of reasons teachers need to communicate with parents, and this is actually one of the QTS standards. Teachers cannot reach qualified teacher status without demonstrating that they:

Communicate effectively with children, young people, colleagues, parents and carers.

Recognise and respect the contribution that colleagues, parents and carer can make to the development and well-being of children and young people, and to raising their levels of attainment.

Have a commitment to collaboration and co-operative working.

Friday is one of the most commonly agreed days, but not the only option. A flexischooling timetable can be suited to what works for the school.

In a recent survey in our facebook group, I was quite surprised to find that over 60% of the parents flexischooling or wanting to flexischool are education professionals themselves, so it would be unnecessary for the teacher to go through concepts and methods with most parents. Even if a parent is not an education professionals, if they made it as far as getting flexischooling agreed (which requires a lot of research and powers of persuasion) then they’ll be quite capable of researching reading and mathematical concepts and methods. The internet is an incredibly powerful research tool, with so many online teaching resources ❤️

@gattocattivo I am still waiting for your proposed solution to what you think I should do, given that clearly you seem to think you have all the answers and your insulting comment implying that I am failing my children:

“Why on earth wouldn’t anyone withdraw their child completely if they were in a horrendous environment, being taught stuff 5 years below their level and becoming so distressed they were suicidal? I really don’t get it. Flexi schooling is not a solution to that.”

I would like to point out that I didn’t suggest flexi-schooling as a solution for my children, anyway, because obviously as a lone parent I can’t facilitate that while also providing for them, as my posts before yours stated very clearly.

However, I would love to know how exactly you expect me to “withdraw my child completely” and still keep a roof over her and her brother’s heads, with no family income at all. Do tell. It must be blindingly obvious given you said “why on earth wouldn’t anyone withdraw their child completely” from school in this situation. Therefore there must be some kind of simple solution I’m missing, to replace my salary and do so, so I can pay a mortage and their medical care and their other basic needs with no income at all. I’m awaiting your reply, it will be lifechanging for us once you let us know!

Please regale us with your proposed solution that apparently is so simple and hasn’t occurred to me due to my immense stupidity, during my several years of dealing with this problem, because I’m (evidently) so incredibly stupid that I haven’t figured out what is so very obvious to you.

The vast majority of flexischooling parents would be delighted with this model ❤️ However, it is schools that often fear a child falling behind and want to ensure the child is covering the same content at home. Most parents are willing to compromise on this and incorporate the same skills and knowledge. Parents can find out a certain amount for themselves, looking at the National Curriculum, looking at the curriculum pages on the school website, etc, but certain information, such as which phonics sound they are cover on that day, would require a short conversation between the parent and teacher.

This liaising is at the school’s discretion and the level of collaboration is led by the school.

What a wonderful post. 👏👏👏

Especially this:

If we believe in building a compassionate society, then we make space for those who need difference, not just celebrate those who can manage sameness.

I’d go further as well: it’s compassionate, but also about self-preservation. Society needs people who are different, inventive, creative, think in different ways, people who don’t fit the mould. These are the people who have made the life we have now: there would be no electric appliances, vehicles, most of modern medicine wouldn’t exist, and a large chunk of music and art wouldn’t exist either if it wasn’t for people who are “different”.

Genes do not spread so widely in society if they have no benefit, they die out. Perhaps people should read the works of the (autistic) Darwin. Society needs both its orchids and dandelions in order to thrive, and if we mistreat the orchids - who will wither and die and not grow back if stamped on, and need a little more nurture - then everyone will suffer.

Thank you for asking this question! There is commonly a lot of confusion around this.

You are absolutely right, they do appear to be very similar, but they are legally two distinct arrangements.

Both flexischooling and Part-time timetables are granted at the headteacher’s discretion. Currently, flexischooling should be marked in the register as Code C, and part-time timetables got their own attendance code back in August 2024, and should now be marked as code C2.

The biggest difference between flexischooling and a part-time timetable is that one is legally considered a full time education and the other is not.

Children of compulsory school age are legally entitled to a full time education.

A part-time timetable is agreed in exceptional circumstances for a child who is struggling in some way. The school is still wholly responsible for delivering the child’s education on a part-time timetable, and may send work home (which will add to the teacher’s workload) but there is an understanding that due to the reasons necessitating the part-time timetable, the work may not be completed. The guidance states that a part-time timetable should be agreed for the shortest amount of time possible. Many schools see it as a 6 week arrangement, during which time the child will phase back into full time school. Though the guidance does state that in some situations the arrangement may need to be longer term, recognising that not all children recover to a 6 week deadline.

Flexischooling, on the other hand, is legally considered to be a full time education. Whilst the child is not in school they are receiving a full time education. If the school felt this was not the case, they can end the arrangement.

Due to the fact that flexischooling is a full time education, the arrangement may remain in place for several years.

There’s also part time attendance before compulsory school age, which is something different again 🫣 Below compulsory school age, children are legally not required to be in full time education, meaning they can start school on a part time basis, but must be in full time education (full time school, full time home education or Flexischooling) once they reach compulsory school age.

I’m not sure why it’s called compulsory school age, it should be compulsory education age, as school based education is not compulsory 🙂

I think Legoplaybook means, the child could be flexischooling during the time the teach has PPA time, so then the child would only miss class time whilst a PPA cover teacher is teaching the class, not the main teacher. PPA teachers are more likely to teach a fixed specific lesson, such as RE, Art, or PE, making it easier for the parent to know what the child would be ‘missing’ and potentially cover this at home.

As explained above, the school may stipulate that the parent covers ‘missed’ learning. To do this some form of communication or liaising would be required. In my experience, this was 1 brief message via the school communication app every half term.

Flexischooling liaising does not require a full meeting. It does not require a sat down planning meeting, like a staff meeting. The onus is on parents to do the research on the curriculum for that year group, which can be found online in the National Curriculum, or looking at the curriculum overview on the school website, etc.

The National Curriculum does not necessarily apply to flexischooling, so parents could teach whatever they liked, unless the headteacher stipulates that they will only agree to flexischooling on the condition that the parent covers key learning that would be missed in school. There may be times when the class teacher wants the parent to know about key learning that might be missed, such as what phonics sound they would be covering in the flexischooling day that week, and a brief conversation at the end or beginning of the school day (as is a common occurrence in Primary schools) would suffice.

This is a great question!

The DfE guidance states that whilst the National Curriculum does apply to the school part of flexischooling, it does not ‘necessarily’ apply to the home part. So it really depends on the terms of the agreement. Here are some examples of what this could look like:

• The school makes no stipulations about what the child should cover whilst being educated out of school, as long as the child is receiving a suitable, full time education, appropriate to the child’s, age, ability, aptitude and any special needs.

• The school may ask that the family make links to the National Curriculum. This is not difficult to do as the National Curriculum has some fairly broad descriptors. Parents can access the National Curriculum online, find the curriculum descriptors for the child’s age (or aptitude if these are not the same) and plan activities accordingly.

• The school may ask that the parent covers the same subject as school. The headteacher may be able to tell the parent this information during the initial meeting, the information may be on the school website, or the class teacher may have a brief conversation with the parent. For example, the child may not be in school for Art, or PE, or RE, or music, etc. The parent can use the National Curriculum or curriculum information on the school website to get an idea of the key skills covered at this age, and then decide how to cover this subject in a way that is engaging and suitable for the child’s age (this is much easier to do for 1 child than it is for 30).

There is sometimes specialist knowledge that could cause difficulties if missed, that the school ask the parent to cover. An example of this is phonics. A new phonic sound is taught every day, and whilst previously taught sounds are recapped, missing the initial input could cause problems. It is not the teacher’s responsibility to explain the teaching of phonics to the parent, it is the parent’s responsibility to research this. Thankfully, there are lots of resources online to support this. A brief conversation with the teacher each week to share the sound that will be covered on the flexischooling day is sufficient to ensure the child gets the sequential learning input. In fact, once a parent knows the sounds the class have done on one particular day (information the parent could get from the child) it may be possible to predict what sounds will be covered on subsequent days, as there is a set pattern for the teaching of phonics.

I am sorry to hear about your daughter’s health struggles and hope that her health has improved now.

If the teachers were providing work for your daughter to do at home, then this was not a flexischooling arrangement as it is described today, though I don’t doubt that the school may have called it that. It sounds more like a part-time timetable, these terms are frequently interchanged, though they are legally distinct arrangements. Though, depending on her age at the time, for example, if this was happening around GCSE time, that would make sense as to why the teachers were so dedicated and supportive, helping her to work towards her exams and fulfil her potential.

Flexischooling is commonly agreed for children with health challenges or SEND, and may be a way for them to access a full time education, but not one that necessarily looks like school.

Op you are explaining yourself well and it comes across as possible and not onerous for teachers. I think sadly that teachers are worn down by constantly having things they can ‘just do’ as a small job being added to their plates that other people think are tiny but add up to so much.

For example, if Fridays were missed then not all Fridays look the same. Sometimes we have a special event, or do a practice for a class assembly or go on a trip, or have to move lessons. Having a child who flexi schools on that day means Fridays are very hard to plan for. It’s possible but not as easy as you make out and will take more than just a little thought by staff.

Teachers spend their lives accommodating their pupils so of course they will try if a parent requests but some posters who seem to be proclaiming how rubbish teachers are may wish to consider that lots is based on good will and constantly bad mouthing teachers is not a way to promote this.

So shocked at all the ‘it will be chaos’ and ‘poor teachers’ comments.

I have been a teacher in KS1 for seven years and also a mother to two (one of whom flexischools).

Teachers are able to have a smaller class size on on the PRE AGREED and ARRANGED flexi day therefore being able to consolidate learning or just have more time with the pupils who are in.

We have not witnessed any kind of social repercussion nor ‘chaos’ and in fact have only heard positives from the headteacher and class teacher e.g ‘ is flourishing and has such a love for learning, ‘flexischooling has made such a difference in burnout. We have noticed by the end of the term the children who flexischool are not totally exuasted’.

How lovely it would be if all the families who wanted to and were able to could have a more progressive and child centred approach to learning…

Jesus - just kill me now why don’t you? 😩

You have a choice already…home school.
Please don’t make our lives any harder than they already are OP, it’s difficult enough when half the class are taking term-time holidays at random (and overlapping) times throughout the year…we just can’t ‘plug those gaps’ as easily as some parents think we can. This year one child in my class has had 5 term time holidays and they have significant gaps in their learning. Your version of ‘flexi-learning’ would be an absolute clusterfuck!

Pick your camp…home Ed or in school full time!

Can I just give an example with the phonics for a moment. We flexi, but my child also misses school for medical appointments. Some of the work at home the week of a medical appointment will be covering what they missed in class. This is the only time they'd miss phonics because we don't flex when phonic is timetabled.

But in the event of him missing from medical appointment, the conversation goes like this with the teacher at a previous drop off.

'Steve got hospital on Thursday. I you're doing oo because' (knowing it'll be level 2 week 3 day 4). Can I just check that please'

'yes that's right'

'no worries, we'll make sure it's covered'

No, I think it would be really time consuming for the teacher to have to plan around this, not to mention disruptive and confusing for the other children. Not something to be encouraged at all.

If you want to home school, you have the option of doing that. If you want your kid to go to school, then you should accept the attendance expectations that go along with that.

Oh sorry to hear that this is causing you some sort of a headache.

But I gotta ask, just where does this notion of “you” and “our lives” somehow being under siege actually come from?

I think the petition was put on here, hoping that other mums concerned with education would be sympathetic to the pleas of other mums or families with children. I don’t think anyone anticipated that it would provoke such divisiveness or hostility. Disagreeing is one thing (many do, which is exactly why not everyone chooses to flexischool). But actively tearing it down, especially by drawing hard lines between “us” and “them” feels unnecessary and, frankly, a little unfair.

Does education not concern all of us? Does it not concern your lovely and diligent children I am sure with plenty of grit who attend school full-time through their good days and bad days? Is it really accurate to think and believe that these alternative education models do not apply to you? And if they really don’t, then does it make it and the people who come here to share it all “clusterfucks”, which seems to be the favoured expletive on this platform, whatever that means…?

It’s entirely possible to disagree with a policy without demeaning the people it might serve.

And I’m not saying this just to ask everyone to be nice. We should already know that, since we are teaching it to our own children. Well, at least I hope we all are. This is more than that. It’s a call to pause and reflect on how easily we speak in absolutes, how quickly we draw lines between sensible and ridiculous, us and them, without really thinking about who might be on the receiving end.

Sometimes the words we use in frustration reveal more about our discomfort with difference than about the issue itself. And when we’re talking about education, which affects all of us in some form, isn’t it worth asking why another family’s solution feels so threatening to you?

You know the OP doesn't control Flexi schooling, it's already a thing - do you want to ban all the schools that currently offer this?

Not all schools have to follow the National Curriculum, anyway. For example, academies do not.

A part-time timetable doesn’t always mean a part-time education. For some, a part time timetable is part of a full-time education in which part of the provision is provided in school and part of the provision provided elsewhere, e.g. via s19 provision. If other provision is made alongside part time school, it doesn’t have to be short term either. Even where other provision isn’t initially made alongside a part time timetable, after a temporary part-time timetable sometimes provision is made otherwise than at school some or all of the time to ensure full time provision rather than reintegration into school full-time. The statutory attendance covers this.

I’m horrified to read your proposal and, as a teacher, definitely won’t be signing.

Would you be able to clarify whether you are horrified by the proposal to correctly assign a unique attendance code for Flexi school? Or are you saying that you are horrified by the mere idea of Flexischooling?

And, by qualifying yourself as a teacher before giving that opinion, are you assuming that this will be somehow horrifying for the teachers? If so, do you know why you believe it will be so horrifying for the teachers? For example, have you experienced a Flexi school child in your class or in your school firsthand? If you have not, and you are extrapolating on assumptions, could you/would you 😉 find out more about how it actually works and hear from the teachers themselves who have experienced it? I believe there is a separate Facebook group dedicated to practitioners and professionals concerning Flexischooling where, you can do just this and it’s called called “Flexischooling practitioners UK”. I’m sure you could hear directly from other teachers, headteachers, and the local authority professionals on their firsthand experience of Flexischooling.

Flexischooling already exists. It's up to the head as to whether to okay it. All this suggested code does is allow a head to do that without worrying about Ofsted penalising them.

If for example a parent is committed, intelligent and works well with the school, and has a dyslexic or autistic child, and wants to teach part-time from home, part-time in the school, that classroom then has a child with significant SEN not soaking up 1:1 TA or even teacher time, because the parent is doing it, while still benefiting from the peer socialisation and the everydayness of a school life.

A lot of SEN kids do have this arrangement, with kind and flexible schools, and it massively reduces their child's anxiety and struggle and enables school to be accessible. Some kids without such struggles get the best of both worlds. And the school gets all the funding of full time attendance, plus smaller classes some of the week, so all the kids benefit.

Again, it's at the discretion of the head, and OP isn't suggesting altering that. The suggestion is simply that an existing legal right of the head is left even more strongly in the head's hands, by removing the worry about attendance.

I really don't get why some people are so opposed. Flexi is a thing that already exists, and in many cases works really well for school and child alike. This isn't reinventing the wheel. It's just suggesting oiling it a bit. If a head doesn't want to do it, then they can say no.

Also wanted to reiterate the info below about the difference between part-time attendance, and a flexi arrangement.

A part-time timetable is just that. It means the child only gets a partial education. It's used as a short-term support mechanism for a child who is very unwell, physically or mentally, or who is convalescing from serious injury or illness, or in some cases who has school phobia perhaps, and the school are trying to scaffold them back in. It can also be used while an EHCP assessment is under way and to avoid significant harm to the child because there's only rudimentary SEN support financially possible at that point, despite the high needs being apparent. It means the child misses a lot of education, so is generally a last resort for that reason. The gains must outweigh that cost, or attendance must be literally impossible (as below, where a sleep disorder made full-time out of the question). And again, it must be time-limited and driven solely by the best interests of that child, not the school's convenience.

Flexi-schooling is, legally and practically, completely different. It is a full-time education, and the school remain in charge of that education. It just means that the school and parents liaise, and agree that for some of the week the child is educated off-site, by and at the cost of their parent(s). That can be in any way the agreement sets out, but in general the school will expect, and parents agree, to ensure that the child is kept up to speed with classroom activities. Bluntly, in primary there's a lot of busywork and classroom management going on, so a dedicated, intelligent parent who cares and works well with the school should be able to cover that learning fairly rapidly and then engage with other enrichment type things of their choice. It can work really well, in the right situation and with the right kids. And, again, the school get to keep all the funding, and the other kids get smaller class sizes (so, more adult attention) when the flexi kids are off.

Lots of schools do it, and those who do tend to have a policy laid out that makes the expectations and the parameters clear. It can work well for all concerned, in the right situation. And it can act as a useful support for the school and the child, especially where there are SEN and a full-time week with 30 kids is just impossible for that child, or even just not ideal. They may need a less intensive week. A one-size-fits all approach is the opposite of inclusion, after all.

Given it's completely up to the head in each school, it clearly can't be that terrible, or none would be doing it. All this is doing is trying to make it easier for schools who do want to, by removing anxiety about how Ofsted may regard it.

Wow, I saw this petition on the SEND boards and was curious about the reaction you said you received here. This is why my autistic son is being home educated. For a child with SEND, we found the education system an extremely hostile, inflexible and unforgiving place.

The impact school has had on our family - EBSA met with threats of fines and prosecution and me having to leave my job to accommodate the school's constantly changing start and finish times on a part-time timetable they kept promising was temporary, removing my ability to plan long-term (i.e. a formalised flexischooling arrangement) - has been like a bomb went off in our lives. We were much better off before he started school, and we're piecing our lives back together now that we've removed him from the utterly broken SEND system with an approach to home ed that just about works for him and the whole family.

I will happily sign this. Flexischooling could have been a great alternative for us, but it was never allowed on the table. If the Government makes it harder to home educate (via the Children's Wellbeing Bill) it will be even more important for children with SEND to have flexischooling as a bit of respite from a system that seems, consciously or not, designed to traumatise them and their families.