School Bullying Solved Instantly

The first thing for parents and those with parental responsibility to appreciate is this little known or publicised fact.

The second thing to know is that the process of removing them from school is extremely straightforward, and this process is called Deregistration.

Once a child is deregistered the school's responsibility for their education automatically ceases and the child will now be 'Educated Otherwise' than at school.The usual term for this practice is Home Education.

Although the school has no further responsibility regarding the education of the child, the same is not true of the Local Education Authority (LEA). They have a duty to ensure that the child is receiving a "suitable" education, and the LEA may or may not choose to put pressure on a parent to allow their child to undergo scrutiny of their educational provision, otherwise known as a Formal Assessment.

Parents may or may not choose to make a Response to the Local Education Authority.

What happens next is determined by the response to the LEA.

Deregistering and home educating your child may seem like a daunting task to embark on, and it appears to be seen by the authorities as a personal challenge. Perhaps it has to do with you veering from the path of conformity and compliance. Perhaps it's because a school will lose out financially due to the educational funding for your child being withdrawn.

The school may tell you that you are not allowed or qualified to home educate your child, or that you cannot deregister them for other reasons. Please be assured that this is not the case, and upon your letter of deregistration (unless your child is attending a special school, in which case permission from the LEA is needed) the school is obliged to deregister your child and inform the LEA within 14 days of receipt.

If you decide that you would like your child to receive the benefit of home education, simply use the example letter below. Address your Letter of Deregistration to the head of the school and either hand it to them personally or send it by recorded delivery (recommended). Once the letter is received by the school your child will automatically cease to be a pupil there, and you are not obliged to have any further contact with them.

 

Your Address

Date

Mr./Mrs. [Head's Name],

Headteacher,

Name of School,

Address of School

Re: [Your Child's Name], D.O.B [Insert Date of Birth]

Dear Mr./Mrs. [Head's Name],

After careful consideration I have decided to withdraw my son/daughter [Insert Name] from school in order to take personal responsibility for his/her education.

I am providing a home based approach to learning, in accordance with my legal rights under section 7 of the Education Act 1996.

You may therefore delete [Insert Name]'s name from the register in fulfillment of Education (Pupil Registration) Regulation 9 (1)(c), 1995, as he/she is now receiving education otherwise than at school.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your Name(s)]

 

You now have responsibility for your child's education, but don't panic! Education Otherwise have all the resources needed for home educating parents, and if you have any doubts about the feasibility of home education, either from a legal or a practical point of view, you should go there now.

Your main concern, and a concern of your LEA, is that your child is required by law to be provided with an "efficient full-time education according to [their] age, ability, aptitude and special needs" (Education Act 1996 Section 7).

Fortunately, the law recognizes that there are many different ways that a child can be educated, and if a child is learning practical and self-sufficiency skills, for example, the law would not seek to impose an academic approach. In fact the 'autonomous' approach, where the child determines their own areas of study i.e. how, when and what to learn, has been adjudged to fulfill the criteria of the 1996 Act, meaning that your child can be permitted to pursue mainly personal interests.

It is very likely that your LEA will contact you with a view to making arrangements for your child to receive a formal assessment of their educational provision. Again, fortunately, the law recognizes that this is not always to the benefit of the child and parents may refuse a formal assessment if they feel, for example, that their child's confidence would be undermined or their development set back due to an assessment putting pressure on the child.

You have no legal requirement to have any contact with your LEA, but it is advisable that you do. The wording of the 1996 Education Act requires the LEA to act if something comes to its attention which gives it reason to suppose a breach of a parent's Section 7 duties. In other words, it must have 'suspicion' that your child is not been educated properly, and it may 'appear' to the LEA that a parent is not discharging their duties if they make no response at all.

In view of the above, you may wish to respond to the LEA by telling them that your child is being educated autonomously and you will not allow a formal assessment. The good thing about this approach is that it should end any more interference by the LEA in your child's education.

If you do see this as the best way to respond, you may wish to base your response on the following example.

Your Address

Date

Mr,/ Mrs. [LEA Officer's Name],

LEA Address

Dear [LEA Officer's Name],

In response to your letter dated [Insert Date] I believe it would be detrimental for [Insert Child's Name] to receive any formal assessment at the moment as this would put unnecessary pressure on him/her and may undermine his /her confidence and development. It is proving a hard, slow process undoing the damage the school did to [Insert Child's Name] but his/her confidence is now improving.

I am finding that the autonomous approach is working well for [Insert Child's Name], but this may change to a more disciplined approach over time.

I shall contact you should I need your help or advice in the future.

Yours Sincerely

Your Name(s)

So, there it is then. If your child is suffering from bullying at school, or is unhappy there for other reasons, they can be relieved of their problem instantly by the simple means of deregistering them from that school.

If you have not yet visited the Education Otherwise website, then now's the time to do it. You will find there answers to any questions you may have regarding educating your child at home.