UK home education guide
Deregistering from school: 7 things nobody tells you
Updated · 2 min read
Deregistration is an administrative act. The fear around it is real, but almost none of it comes from the process itself.
Two years of research before my daughter's old enough — some of these took me months to find.
All seven are true in England today.
1. The school can't say no
Deregistration isn't a request. One letter, and the school must take your child off the roll.
- Mainstream school: no permission needed
- Legal the same day
- Only special schools (EHCP placements) work differently
2. There's no curriculum police
Home education doesn't have to follow the national curriculum, set hours, or a timetable.
3. 'Full-time education' has no legal hour-count.
The law asks for education suitable to age and ability — not a 9-to-3 replica at the kitchen table.
4. The LA will probably write to you. It's routine
- An informal enquiry — not an inspection
- A short written summary usually satisfies it
- You don't have to accept home visits
The letter feels scary the first time. It's admin.
When the letter arrives it asks much the same things every time: who is being educated, where, and roughly how. A short written reply describing what you provide is a complete answer, and asking to keep the conversation in writing is a perfectly reasonable preference to state.
5. 'Done by lunch' is real — and it's why families don't go back
The time maths
- School day
- 6 hours
- Actual teaching
- ~2 hours
- Your child's share of attention
- 12 min
One-to-one deletes the queues. Same content, minus the waiting.
6. It's not a one-way door
You can apply for a school place again whenever you choose.
7. You won't be doing it alone.
126,000 UK children are already home educated — up 13% in a single year.
The order it actually happens in
One letter, off the roll, then a routine enquiry you answer in writing. Most of that sequence is carried out by other people, and none of it takes an evening.
The part that stays yours is the following Monday morning. Families who describe leaving as calm are almost always the ones who worked out what the first term contained before they sent the letter, rather than after.