Flexi-Schooling in England: What It Is and How to Request It
Not every family wants to choose between full-time school and full-time home education. Some children do well with a combination — perhaps attending school three days a week and learning at home the other two, or attending for core lessons and spending the rest of the week on project-based work at home. This arrangement is called flexi-schooling, and it is a legal option in England, though one that depends entirely on the school’s agreement.
This article explains what flexi-schooling is, how it works in practice, what the legal position is, and how to approach a conversation with a school about it.
What Is Flexi-Schooling?
Flexi-schooling — sometimes called flexible school attendance — is an arrangement in which a child is registered at a school but attends only on agreed days or for agreed sessions, with the remaining time spent in home education provided by the parent.
During the time the child is not at school, the parent takes full responsibility for providing a suitable education, just as a full-time home educator would. During the time the child is at school, the school is responsible for their education and welfare. The two arrangements run in parallel.
Flexi-schooling is not the same as part-time attendance due to illness or exclusion. It is a voluntary, agreed arrangement made between the parent and the school.
Is Flexi-Schooling Legal?
Yes. The DfE has confirmed that flexi-schooling is a legal arrangement in England. Under Section 444(3) of the Education Act 1996, a registered pupil is not required to attend school on days or sessions when the headteacher has authorised their absence. When a family has a flexi-schooling arrangement in place, the school authorises the absent sessions under this provision.
The school marks the agreed home education sessions as authorised absence in the register. Because attendance is authorised, the family does not fall foul of the law around school attendance.
However — and this is the key point — the arrangement requires the school’s consent. Schools are not required to offer flexi-schooling. It is entirely within a headteacher’s discretion to agree or refuse. This means flexi-schooling depends on finding a school that is willing to accommodate it.
Who Does Flexi-Schooling Suit?
Flexi-schooling tends to work well for particular types of families and children. It may be worth exploring if:
Your child has specific interests or projects that they pursue with intensity and need time at home to develop — a young musician practising for many hours a day, a child who is deeply engaged in a long-term science or craft project, or a teenager building a small business or creative portfolio.
Your child is finding the full school week exhausting or overwhelming but is not ready to leave school entirely. Children with anxiety, sensory processing differences, or SEND sometimes manage much better with a reduced school week, and some families use flexi-schooling as a step before making a decision about full-time home education.
Your family has a lifestyle that involves extended travel, seasonal work, or other commitments that make full-time school attendance difficult, and your child is thriving overall but needs some flexibility in the structure of the week.
Your child is excelling in certain areas and needs enrichment beyond what the school can offer, but benefits from the social and academic environment of school for other subjects.
How to Request Flexi-Schooling From a School
The first step is to do your homework. Not all schools will entertain the idea, and approaching it badly can damage the relationship. Before you write any letter, speak informally with the headteacher or a senior member of staff to gauge whether it is something they are open to discussing.
When you do make a formal request, be specific. Rather than asking in general terms whether flexi-schooling might be possible, come with a clear proposal: which days you are asking to keep your child at home, what you plan to do during that time, and how the arrangement will benefit your child educationally. Headteachers are more likely to agree when they can see that the parent has thought this through carefully and that the child will continue to receive a good education during the home days.
Frame your proposal in terms of what the arrangement offers the school as well as your child. Schools are assessed on attendance figures, so you should acknowledge that this will show on the register as authorised absence and that you are aware of this. Schools that agree to flexi-schooling arrangements typically do so because they can see the benefit to the specific child, and because they trust the family to take the home education days seriously.
Put your request in writing and ask for a written response. If the school agrees, make sure the terms are clearly documented: which sessions are covered, how long the arrangement will run before review, what happens on days when school has events or parents are asked to attend, and how communication will work between home and school days.
What to Do if a School Refuses
Schools can and do refuse flexi-schooling requests, and they are within their rights to do so. If a school refuses, you have a few options.
You can try other schools in your area. Some headteachers are more open to flexible arrangements than others, particularly in smaller schools or those with an ethos that values individual learning. It is worth asking around in your local home education community, as word often travels about which schools are willing to consider such arrangements.
You can consider full-time home education instead. If the arrangement you wanted from flexi-schooling was more time for home-based learning, full-time home education gives you that — along with complete freedom over how the week is structured. Many families who start by exploring flexi-schooling find that the more they think about it, the more full-time home education makes sense.
You can wait and try again. School leadership changes, and a headteacher who refuses today may be succeeded by someone more open to the idea. Some families revisit the question after a year or two.
Keeping Records During Flexi-Schooling
When you are flexi-schooling, you are functioning as a home educator during the days your child is not in school. The same principles apply as for full-time home educators: you do not need to follow the national curriculum on your home days, but you should be providing efficient full-time education suitable to your child’s age, ability, and aptitude.
Keep brief notes of what you do on home days — not for anyone else’s benefit necessarily, but because they help you plan and they provide a simple record if any questions arise later. Some families keep a journal, others a simple spreadsheet. What matters is that you have something to refer back to.
Your local authority will not necessarily be notified of a flexi-schooling arrangement; because your child is still on the school roll, the notification process that applies to full-time deregistration does not trigger. However, the school may inform the local authority, so it is worth knowing they may be in the picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any school offer flexi-schooling?
Any maintained school in England can offer flexi-schooling, but no school is required to. It depends on the headteacher’s agreement. Some schools have a standing policy against it; others are open to considering requests case by case.
Does flexi-schooling affect my child’s attendance record?
Yes. The home education sessions will be recorded as authorised absence on the register. This will show in the school’s attendance data. Schools are aware of this when they agree to the arrangement.
Do I need to follow the national curriculum on home days?
No. During the days your child is not in school, you are providing home education, and home educators in England are not required to follow the national curriculum. You are free to structure the home days as you see fit.
What happens during school trips or special events?
This should be agreed in advance. Many flexi-schooling families attend school events even on their regular home days. It is worth including this in your written agreement with the school.
Can I flexi-school at secondary level as well as primary?
Flexi-schooling is possible at any age, though it becomes more logistically complicated at secondary level because of the structured timetable. Some secondary schools have agreed arrangements for specific subjects. It requires a willing school and a clear plan for how the home days will cover what the child would otherwise have been doing at school.