General information about England, not legal advice. For your child's situation, talk to IPSEA or your local SENDIASS.
In brief
- Your duty is the one every parent has: a suitable, full-time education. For your child, that includes suiting their special educational needs.
- From a mainstream school, you can deregister by writing to the school, whether or not your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
- From a special school where the council arranged the place, the school can't take your child off its roll until the council agrees.
- An EHC plan doesn't end because your child is home educated. The council still has to review it every year.
- Home education you choose and education the council arranges outside school are easy to confuse. Which one you have decides who pays.
The law, and the SEND Code
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 puts the duty on you as a parent: your child must receive "efficient full-time education suitable" to their age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs they have, "either by regular attendance at school or otherwise". Home education falls under the "otherwise".
The SEND Code of Practice gives home education its own part (paragraphs 10.30 to 10.38), and confirms the right covers children with SEN. Your provision can look different from what a school would do: councils are told not to assume it's unsuitable for that reason (paragraph 10.35).
Leaving school: when the council has to agree
A mainstream school, with or without an EHC plan
Write to the school to say your child will be educated otherwise than at school. The school then removes their name and tells the council. GOV.UK says you don't need the council's permission if your child attends a mainstream school, "even if they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan". There's a sample letter in our article on how to deregister your child from school.
You don't have to talk to the council first, though where possible parents should be encouraged to (the Department for Education's guidance for local authorities, paragraph 8.6). The SEN team will need to know either way, because the plan will need changing.
A special school
Here the council has a say. If your child became a pupil at a special school under arrangements the council made, the school must not take their name off the register unless the council consents. If the council refuses, the Secretary of State can direct that the name be removed. The rule is in regulation 9(2) of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.
Getting that consent "should not be a lengthy or complex process", and it "must not be withheld unreasonably" (DfE guidance for councils, paragraph 8.6). If your planned home education would meet your child's needs, the council should give consent, so give it something concrete to agree to: a clear written description of how you'll meet the needs set out in the plan. There's no legal "trial period" of home education either (Code, paragraph 10.33).
Independent special schools, and what the 2026 Act changes
If your child is at an independent school for children with SEN, today's consent rule doesn't apply. It covers special schools as section 337 of the Education Act 1996 defines them: council-maintained special schools, academies and non-maintained special schools. Independent schools fall outside that definition.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 widens the rule. Once it's in force, you'll need council consent if a council placed your child at a special school or at an independent school "specially organised to make special educational provision", or if your child is, or in the last five years was, the subject of child protection enquiries or action. Section 37 does this by inserting a new section 434A into the 1996 Act. The council must decide "without undue delay", and must refuse if it thinks attending school is in the child's best interests, or if no suitable arrangements have been made for education otherwise than at school.
The new rule isn't in force yet. On 23 October 2026, legislation.gov.uk shows section 434A inserted only for the purpose of making regulations; the rest starts on a date the Secretary of State will set.
What happens to the EHC plan
Once you're home educating, and for as long as your own arrangements are suitable, the council no longer has to secure the special educational provision in the plan (section 42(5) of the Children and Families Act 2014). The plan should be amended to name the type of school that would be suitable, while stating that you've made your own arrangements under section 7 (Code, paragraph 10.32).
There's one case where the council keeps that duty: when you and the council agree that home education is the right provision for your child. The plan should then make that clear (Code, 10.31), and the council must arrange the provision in it under section 42(2), working with you. Deregistering won't bring that about on its own. It takes an agreement with the council.
Whichever applies, the plan carries on.
- Annual reviews continue. Each year the council must check that the provision is still appropriate and your child's needs are still being met, and the review is your chance to ask for more support (Code, 10.32; DfE guidance, 8.12).
- If the council decides your home education is no longer suitable, it must make sure the provision in the plan is made available, and a school attendance order is described as a last resort (DfE guidance, 8.4; Code, 10.36).
- Help with costs is possible but not guaranteed. The DfE's guidance for parents says councils can, at their discretion, support extra costs that come from a child's special needs (paragraph 3.6). If you ask, your request must still get reasonable consideration (guidance for councils, 8.8).
- The council has no right of entry. It can't come into your home to check the provision unless you invite it (Code, 10.34).
No EHC plan? You can still ask the council for an EHC needs assessment while you home educate. It must consider the request in the same way, and on the same timescales, as for any child (DfE guidance for parents, 5.24).
Home education isn't the same as EOTAS
In what people often call EOTAS, education otherwise than at school, it's the council, not you, that arranges your child's special educational provision. Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 lets a council arrange it "otherwise than in a school", but only if it's satisfied that provision in a school would be inappropriate, and only after consulting you. It can happen in your home, "but not by you as parents" (guidance for parents, 5.22). The DfE's guidance for councils gives tutors at home as one example, and is firm that EOTAS "is not 'elective home education'" (8.8 and 8.5).
| Question | Elective home education | EOTAS |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Education Act 1996, section 7 | Children and Families Act 2014, section 61 |
| Who decides | You | The council, after consulting you |
| Who arranges the education | You | The council |
| Who is responsible for the cost | You; any council help is discretionary | The council, which must secure the provision in the plan (section 42(2)) |
| What the EHC plan says | That you have made your own arrangements | The arrangements the council has made |
This matters most before you deregister. If you believe school can't work for your child, but you can't provide the education yourself, ask the council about section 61, and talk through the alternatives with it before you decide on home education (guidance for parents, 3.5). Get independent advice before you send the letter, too.
If you feel pushed to leave
A school should never pressure you to remove your child to avoid a formal exclusion, or because your child is having difficulty with learning or behaviour. The DfE guidance for parents says this practice, "sometimes called 'off-rolling'", is unacceptable, and that if a state-funded school does it you should tell the council (paragraph 3.4).
Ofsted defines off-rolling as removing a pupil from the roll without a permanent exclusion when it is mainly in the school's interests, including by pressuring a parent. It says the practice is "never acceptable". A parent's clear choice to home educate, made without pressure, isn't off-rolling.
If you're in that position:
- Nothing changes until you give the school written notice. A suggestion made in a meeting isn't a decision, and you can take your time.
- Ask for the school's suggestion in writing, and keep notes of meetings and dates.
- If support in school isn't meeting your child's needs, you should be able to get information about your right to request an EHC needs assessment, and to appeal (Code, 10.37).
Records that show the education suits your child
What the council is weighing up is whether the education suits this child. The advice in our records article applies, and for a child with SEN, add:
- The outcomes in the plan, with a note of how you are working towards each.
- What you've changed to fit your child: pace, setting, breaks, equipment, how you present work.
- Reports from therapists, specialist tutors or other professionals involved.
- Progress measured from your child's own starting point, written up once a term.
Keep it in a form you can send in writing, ready for an annual review or a council enquiry; the free education record builder will make one from your notes. AltEd's portfolio keeps dated evidence by subject. It doesn't give SEND or legal advice; for that, use the services below.
Where to get independent advice
- IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) is a registered charity. Its helpline offers free and independent legal information, advice and support on SEND law in England.
- Your local SENDIASS. Every council must arrange information and advice for parents about SEN (Code, 2.1). These Information, Advice and Support Services should be impartial, confidential and free, and run at arm's length from the council (2.5 and 2.8). To find yours, look at your council's Local Offer, which must say how to reach it (2.3).