Deregister your child from school
You (a parent or carer with parental responsibility) need to write an email or a letter to the Head Teacher to let them know that you wish to deregister your child in order to home educate.
The school will then delete your child's name from the register and our team will contact you for some information such as name, date of birth, preferred contact method and a brief outline of your initial educational provision. This helps us confirm that your child is not missing education.
If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and is in a mainstream school or Specialist Resourced Provision, this process is the same.
If your child or children attends a special school
If the child is at a special school, then parents have to seek permission from the Local Authority to deregister.
You must contact us first, as the Head Teacher cannot simply remove your child from their register.
Contact our Elective Home Education team
If your child is on a Child Protection plan or Child in Need plan
All children who are home educated and have social care involvement are considered on a case-by-case basis.
It is unlikely that it is appropriate for a child on a Child Protection plan to be home educated, as the threshold is that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm. If your child is on this plan, the Headteacher will contact the EHE Officer before your child is taken off the register.
Children on Child in Need plans are monitored by Social Care working together with the EHE officer.
After you have deregistered your child from school
We will aim to contact you within three weeks of deregistration - this is usually by an initial phone call and a follow up email.
An email or letter will be sent out to you around two months after deregistration, and we will need you to write back, providing detailed information covering:
- educational provision
- progress made
- physical and social opportunities
If you would prefer to discuss this over the phone or face to face in a visit, this can also be arranged.
If your child has an EHCP, a member of the SEND team will be in contact.
If we cannot get in touch with you
The Elective Home Educate (EHE) officer will put in a referral to the Children Missing Education team, who will then try and make contact, which might include going to your house.
How often we will contact you
If your initial response is satisfactory then contact will be made on an annual basis unless your family circumstances change (such as social care involvement).