When you deregister your child from school, your child’s name will be taken off the roll and you will be legally home educating (aka homeschooling). This is completely legal, as the .gov website confirms.
Parents have all kinds of reasons for wanting to deregister their child. The most common include bullying, issues with having special needs met, or simply finally gathering up the courage to home educate if they’ve been thinking about it for a while.
Home education is an absolutely brilliant option for children’s education (see 40 great advantages of homeschoolingl). I have always home educated my three children and have been doing it for over 11 years.
None of them went to nursery or preschool; instead we found homeschool groups near us and quickly made friends that way. We unschool, and my kids within that approach have chosen to take classes and attend structured groups, both academic and social.
I have run this blog for several years and now help parents deregister and home educate their own children. In this article I will explain the details of deregistration, and provide you with template letters to ensure the process is as smooth and easy as possible. Then you can get on with the fun part- home ed!
I will now outline the different processes and letters for the following: mainstream school in England and Wales; a school for children with special needs in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland. Below that are letters for scenarios that may occur during the deregistration process if the school doesn’t play ball; these will help you assert you rights and ensure that you get the outcome you are entitled to.
Deregistering Your Child From A Mainstream School in England or Wales
The process for this is very straightforward and you can deregister in one day, and is for any child in a mainstream school (even if they have an EHCP). This can be with immediate effect, or you can choose the date at which the deregistration takes effect (if for example you want the child to finish their current term at school).
The school is legally obliged to remove your child’s name from the roll on the date you specify. They are also legally obliged to inform your Local Authority. You do not have to give a reason for removing your child.
You do not have to have any meetings, discussions, fill out any forms or have any further contact with the school. You do not have to get in touch yourself with the Local Authority (they will likely contact you).
If your relationship with the school and your child’s teacher is good, it may be a nice idea to give your child the chance to say goodbye to their friends; if you are concerned that the school will mistreat your child in some way, or they are currently suffering at school, I personally would withdraw with immediate effect.
Here is a sample deregistration letter for removing your child from a mainstream school in England or Wales:
Date Your name and address
Head teacher’s name at School Name
School Address
Dear (Head’s Name), Ref: (Full Name Of Child and Date Of Birth of child)
Please remove (Child’s Name ) from the school roll with immediate effect as (he/she/they) is/are now home educated in accordance with the Education Act 1996 s.(7).
*If you want to deregister on an alternative date to when you hand the letter in, change this to change to ‘Please remove (child’s name ) from the school roll with effect from (date) as (he/she/they) will be home educated from that date, in accordance with the Education Act 1996 s.(7).*
Please confirm receipt of this letter and that (child’s name) has been removed from the roll in accordance with (in England) the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 s(8)(1)(d) Or (in Wales) the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 s(8)(1)(d)
Yours sincerely
Your name in full (Parent/Guardian of Child’s Full Name)
Send this letter by recorded delivery or email so you have proof that it has been sent by you and received by the school. The Local Authority may get in touch with you to ask about your home education provision. You do not have to have meetings with them and you can keep all contact in writing if you would prefer. If the school refuses or delays, use the Follow Up Letter further down this page.
Deregistering Your Child From A Special School in England or Wales
You cannot deregister from a special needs school in the same way as a mainstream school; parents need to request consent from the Local Authority.
(Units attached to mainstream schools and Pupil Referral Units do not count as special schools. You can withdraw your child from those in the same way as mainstream schools as long as you are not subject to a School Attendance Order.)
Within this letter you should outline in detail how you will meet your child’s extra needs; you should refer to their EHCP in this context.
Here is a sample request for deregistration letter for your child who is attending a special school – this needs to be sent to the school headteacher, the Director of Education at your Local Authority, and the Local Authority SEN team:
Your name and address
Headteacher’s name/ Director of Education’s name
Address (School & Local Authority)
Date
Dear (Head/ Director of Education’s name), REF: (Full Name Of Child; Date of Birth or Child; Name of Special School)
Our child is a pupil at (Name of Special School). After careful consideration and research, we have decided to home educate them in accordance with the Education Act 1996 s.(7).
In light of this we are requesting that the Local Authority allow (Child’s Name) to be removed from the school register, in accordance with Regulation 8(2) of the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006.
We will provide (Child’s Name) with a full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, ability and special needs.
We will do this by (fill in how you will meet their educational and extra needs, referring to their EHCP).
Thank you for your understanding in this matter; we look forward to your response confirming that (Child’s Name) has been removed from the school register.
Yours sincerely,
Your name in full (Parent/Guardian of Child’s Name)
Deregistering Your Child In Scotland
In Scotland, whether your child is at a mainstream or special school, you must write to the Local Authority requesting consent to withdraw your child from school. They cannot unreasonably refuse this request but you must explain how you will provide an education for your child in the letter.
Your child must continue to attend their school until you have written permission from the Local Authority, which usually takes around 6 weeks.
You do not have to follow this process if you move to a new Local Authority, if your child attends private school or if your child is leaving P7.
Here is a sample request to deregister your child from a school in Scotland:
Your name and address
Director of Education’s name
Local Authority Address
Date
Dear (Director of Education’s name), REF: (Full Name Of Child; Date of Birth or Child; Name of School)
Our child is a pupil at (Name School). After careful consideration and research, we have decided to home educate them in accordance with section 30 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. In light of this we are requesting that the Local Authority allow (Child’s Name) to be removed from the school register.
We will provide (Child’s Name) with a full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, ability and special needs.
We will do this by (fill in how you will meet their educational and any additional needs).
Thank you for your understanding in this matter; we look forward to your response confirming that (Child’s Name) has been removed from the school register.
Yours sincerely,
Your name in full (Parent/Guardian of Child’s Name)
Ideas for things to include when detailing how you will educate your child include:
- Resources you will use (classes, clubs, books, apps, websites, TV series, library memberships, science equipment, art materials, workbooks and worksheets, trips out to museums, parks, etc). I have a post on 100+ homeschool resources that may be of help!
- Social opportunities your child has (in-person or online classes, home ed meets ups, playdates, clubs etc)- you may wish to check out my post on how to find homeschool groups near you.
- Who is involved in your child’s education (yourself, wider family, tutors, class and club leaders, etc).
- How you will assess your child’s progress (tests, discussions, practical demonstrations, etc).
- Your style of home education (will you be using a homeschool curriculum or another approach, is it project-based, autonomous, Montessori or Charlotte Mason based or something else?
- Why and how home education will be a positive change for your child. If your child didn’t like school, you may enjoy my posts on why it’s normal for kids to hate school, and how school trauma is real.
- How you will meet any additional needs your child has such as autism or dyslexia.
Deregistering Your Child In Northern Ireland
Deregistering your child from a school in Northern Ireland is pretty much the same process as that for a mainstream school in England or Wales. This is for all children whether or not they are in a mainstream school or have SEN.
You need to send the deregistration letter to the headteacher; you do not need to a give a reason for wanting to home educate. Deregistration is with immediate effect.
Once deregistered, the school will complete an attendance form and send this to the Education Authority, the Education Welfare Service and the child’s parents. The school is obliged to offer constructive support to families; this may include a final report of the child’s progress, short term loans of textbooks or other curriculum materials, especially during the initial home educating period.
Families are not obliged to accept this offering. Here is the sample letter for Northern Ireland:
Date Your name and address
Head teacher’s name at School Name
School Address
Dear (Head’s Name), Ref: (Full Name Of Child and Date Of Birth of child)
Please remove (Child’s Name ) from the school roll with immediate effect as (he/she/they) is/are now home educated in accordance with DENI Circular 2017/15 and the Statutory Rules for NI 1974 [no.78].
Please confirm receipt of this letter and that (child’s name) has been removed from the roll.
Yours sincerely
Your name in full (Parent/Guardian of Child’s Full Name)
Follow Up Letter for England
This letter can be sent if your school in England tries to delay deregistration or refuses to deregister your child from school. Remember, you do not have to have any meetings or phone calls with the school- once you send the letter you have fulfilled your legal obligations and the school must remove your child from the roll.
You may wish to remove the line about enforcing fines for non-attendance if this does not apply to you.
Date Your name and address
Head teacher’s name at School Name
School Address
Dear (Head’s Name), Ref: (Full Name Of Child and Date Of Birth of child)
I am writing to confirm my previous letter of deregistration for my child (Child’s Name) as they are now home educated in accordance with section 7 of the Education Act 1996.
According to law, deregistration from a mainstream school in England (not a special school) must be carried out upon written instruction to the headteacher of the school by the parent.
Failure to deregister upon instruction to do so is a criminal offence and leaves the school open to prosecution.
You will find the relevant legal framework in the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulation 2016 particularly section 8(1)(d).
Since deregistration has been unlawfully denied, any attempt to enforce fines for non-attendance is also unlawful.
Please confirm that (Child’s Name) has now been removed from the school roll as per my earlier letter.
Please keep any and all further communication in writing to the address above.
Yours sincerely
Your name in full (Parent/Guardian of Child’s Full Name)
Follow Up Letter for Wales
This letter can be sent if your school in Wales tries to delay deregistration or refuses to deregister your child from school. Remember, you do not have to have any meetings or phone calls with the school- once you send the letter you have fulfilled your legal obligations and the school must remove your child from the roll.
You may wish to remove the line about enforcing fines for non-attendance if this does not apply to you.
Date Your name and address
Head teacher’s name at School Name
School Address
Dear (Head’s Name), Ref: (Full Name Of Child and Date Of Birth of child)
I am writing to confirm my previous letter of deregistration for my child (Child’s Name) as they are now home educated in accordance with section 7 of the Education Act 1996.
According to law, deregistration from a mainstream school in Wales (not a special school) must be carried out upon written instruction to the headteacher of the school by the parent.
Failure to deregister upon instruction to do so is a criminal offence and leaves the school open to prosecution.
You will find the relevant legal framework in the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulation 2010 particularly section 9(1)(d).
Since deregistration has been unlawfully denied, any attempt to enforce fines for non-attendance is also unlawful.
Please confirm that (Child’s Name) has now been removed from the school roll as per my earlier letter.
Please keep any and all further communication in writing to the address above.
Yours sincerely
Your name in full (Parent/Guardian of Child’s Full Name)
Final Thoughts On How To Deregister Your Child From School
I hope that this article on how to deregister your child from school is helpful to you in the start of your home education process. For more advice, encouragement and resources for homeschooling please see my most popular home education blog posts.
Please consider sharing this post to help other families on their home education journey!
