How to Deregister Your Child from School

Can I deregister my child from school?

Deregistering from school is the process by which your child’s name is taken off of the registry. Many parents have considered this in order to reduce the impact COVID-19 has on their child and family. Other families consider this option when their child’s mental wellbeing needs extra support.

In this article we will explain how to deregister your child from school and what you can expect after the deregistration process.

Before you jump in, be sure to check out our blog: How to prepare to deregister your child from a UK school. It’s packed with prompts that will help you determine your child’s pathway.

What is Deregistering from School?

As a parent you are entitled to decide how and where your child receives their education. Should you decide that being in a traditional school setting is not the best place for your child to be, you have the right to remove them from this setting. This is a legal process for parents within the United Kingdom.

“You can teach your child at home, either full or part-time. This is called home education (sometimes ‘elective home education’ or ‘home schooling’).” – gov.uk

There exists a robust community of families who have deregistered their child(ren) and now teach their child at home. This is an option that is available to you as well.

With everything, there are pros and cons to ‘home schooling’ or ‘elective home eduction’. Be sure to check out our guide here.

How to Deregister Your child: The Process

If you are currently living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the deregistration process can be a straightforward process.

Your Responsibilities

1. Write a letter to the Head Teacher outlining that you are executing your right to deregister your child.

See sample letter here

2. Submit this letter in person, or via registered post

*You can deregister up to the morning of the day on which you intend NOT to send your child in to school 

3. Get a dated receipt of submission
4. Follow it up with an email version to ensure there is no denying you sent this information to the school.

The School’s Responsibilities

Following the submission of your letter, your legal requirements are completed.

It then becomes the responsibility of the school to:

• Remove your child’s name from the attendance roll
• Inform the Local Education Authorities

The Local Authorities Next Steps

Some local authorities will get in touch with parents who are deregistering right away. Others may never get in touch. Regardless, it is important to know what rights you have as a parent.

The Local Authorities’ responsibility is to ensure that all children are being provided the best opportunities to become active and contributing members of our society. Therefore, they may ask for proof that your child is being educated at the level of, or greater to, that which they would have received at school.

Remember, they are coming from a good place. As such, do your best to be courteous and transparent.

However, never allow them to make you feel bullied.

You are entitled to decline or delay a meeting to allow time for ‘de-schooling’ and adjustments.

2 Reasons Why You Might Not be able to Deregister from School

While the process is intended to be straightforward, there are two reasons why you may not be able to deregister your child from school.

• If your child attends a ‘special school’ they will need approval from the local council
• If there is a School Attendance Order for the school

We hope this article helped you learn how to deregister your child from school and gave you some insight on what to expect from the School and Local Authorities.

You may want to explore how Bettering Youth tutors can help your child continue to learn and develop beyond the classroom with our home education programmes.

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