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

Of course the parents involved reported that their child did not fall behind or had excellent progression. That's not evidence.
What is the school which has 83% "flexi"?

"it's the best of both worlds for some".
Not for schools or teachers.

Still an absolute no from me.
Lessons are built on prior learning which teachers cannot know if children aren’t there.
Lessons are sequenced and sometimes involve completing something from the previous lesson.
How would coursework work? There are rules from exam boards about adult help.

Also if you don’t know how many children will be in where is the planning for this ‘extra help’ coming from?
So much of this is clearly not thought through.

Sorry OP but this sounds like an awful idea.

I think we should start a petition against flexischooling. Why would we want to finish off our overstretched, underappreciated and underpaid teachers and TAs? Isn't the current torture system not enough?

Imagine trying to do this with a GCSE group with practise questions? You're skills building. What happens to the students who miss Friday if that's the day you've practised the 20 mark question?

From age 4 to 11? How does it work for moving them up the years? Do children who are flexi schooled not have to hit the same markers as their friends who are in full time?

I respect your ambition, but would not want to see flexi school prioritised over the other urgent matters that need addressing in education.

How breathtakingly arrogant! Teachers are not expected to plan or provide the work for parents, though as part of planning a flexischooling arrangement the parent and school will liaise and discuss what content would be missed at the times the child would be educated at home
So who from the school and when will they liase for this? How much time should the head and teachers give to pander to ideology of parents?

Unfortunately, the DfE has hidden the flexischooling guidance within the Elective Home Education guidance, so it’s incredibly common for schools to have never heard of it 🫣

If you would be interested to learn more please join our facebook group for education professionals: Flexischooling Practitioners UK.

We have leaflets written by The Centre for Personalised Education, a list of council and school/federation/MAT flexischooling policies, a flexischooling map showing school that have previously agreed, or who actively advertise flexischooling and much more. Also lots of headteachers of schools who have embraced flexischooling 🙂

Lessons are planned to build on prior knowledge and altered depending on understanding. Children would return to class having missed key parts of a sequence.

Let’s yes.

I'll sign that! Fed up with all the self involved mecentric people these days who think the world should bend around their wants!

Quite so.

I’d sign that

I'll sign it 👍

a job that increases massively if you have a different child who flexi schools in your class and misses different days.

I'm amazed at how spectacularly some people are missing the point here. The alternative for these kids isn't full time school, it's no school at all.
Flexischooling is very popular with parents of kids with SEND, particularly where they would burn out if they attended school full time.
Having worked in schools with kids who spend 2+ years out of school but still on the roll because they can't actually attend their lesson full time and try to come in once in a blue moon, this is a really good way for those kids to access some education and meet more outcomes than they would otherwise.
And OP isn't asking you to flexischool your kids. If you don't want to flexischool, don't flexischool and STFU about it. She's just stating that the attendance codes are currently a clusterfuck and need sorting.
I've signed your petition OP and hope it gets more traction. Sorry you're having a hard time sharing a very simple petition about straightforward admin.

There are lots of teachers that choose to flexischool their own children and schools that actively advertise flexischooling. With careful planning and consideration it works very well. Flexischooling is not an ad hoc arrangement and arrangements should be designed not to add to the teachers workload 🙂

Arrangements designed by whom?

Petal needs x classes on geography because she is not in on Tuesdays. Maximus needs you to teach him last week's Wednesday lesson as he wasn't there. Acidophilus' mum found the English lesson too difficult for her to do so can you help him catch up on that. Oh Nova's dad's wfh schedule has changed suddenly so Nova will change from coming in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Mondays and Fridays so please accommodate. Æthelflæd's mum did not complete the last 4 lessons for personal reasons. Can the teacher please make sure she covers these for her. She can either repeat the lessons on the days Æthelflæd comes or give her some one on one lessons to catch up. Ooh and please pause learning for the rest until little Æthel catches up as she gets very upset otherwise.
No. Just no.

Signed OP, ignore the ignorant people who seem to think the children are the least important people in schools.

Flexischooling is a discretionary arrangement. If headteachers feel it is not in the best interests of the child, then they won’t agree. However, both parents and schools have a duty of care and responsibility towards meeting the needs of children, isn’t that the point? For many children, particularly children with medical, mental health or SEN needs, flexischooling allows the child to access some school, when full time attendance is not possible.

And OP isn't asking you to flexischool your kids. If you don't want to flexischool, don't flexischool and STFU about it.
Great way to get people to support you, verbal abuse...😆

Don't be ridiculous, of course it's going to have an impact on the other pupils if on Monday for their science project Hatti has Lilly as a lab partner, but on weds Lilly has a flexi day, so Hatti can't continue. Or Tues Ben and Joe are to make lasagne in Home Ecnomics, Ben is to bring pasta and tomato sauce. Joe the mince, but Ben then flexi schools...and Joe is snookered...

Individual children are part of a large class who all deserve the teacher’s time. It’s not ignorant to be realistic.