Printable template
School Deregistration Letter Template (England)
Use this blank template to notify a mainstream school in England that your child will receive education otherwise than at school. Check that it applies to your situation before printing it or adapting it into an email. A template does not decide whether a child can lawfully be removed from a school's register.
Checked 10 October 2026: the wider withdrawal-consent and Children Not in School registration duties in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 have not yet started in England. Some regulation-making powers are already in force. This distinction matters: passing the Act did not itself start all its duties. See section 37, section 38 and section 78. Check current government guidance again before acting.
Before using this letter: it is for a child of compulsory school age leaving a mainstream school in England for home education, with no school attendance order naming that school. A special-school placement arranged by the local authority needs a different route. If an order, a parental dispute, a court restriction or a safeguarding process affects your situation, get advice about your circumstances before relying on this template. Read the applicability and exceptions guide.
Check before you use the letter
- Read the scope above and the government home-education guidance. Do not use this as an application for special-school consent or as a way to cancel a school attendance order.
- Choose the final date after which your child will no longer attend. Under regulation 9(1)(f), that date must have passed and no school attendance order naming the school must be in force before deletion on this ground.
- Use one clear date throughout the notice. For example, if the final date is Friday 16 October 2026, the notice says the child will no longer attend after that date. This example explains the wording. It does not determine the correct date for your family.
- Do not backdate the notice or use it to explain away earlier absences. If your child has already stopped attending or there is a disagreement about attendance, seek advice on the existing situation.
- Keep your completed letter on your own device or on paper. The optional local editor works in your open browser and does not send the details you enter to TheLearnDen. Do not email your child's details to us.
The letter
Your name · Your postal or email contact details · Date of this notice
To: The Head Teacher, School name
Dear Head teacher's name,
Re: Child's full name, Class or year group
I am notifying you in writing that my child, child's full name, will no longer attend school name after final date after which my child will no longer attend and will receive education otherwise than at school.
Please delete my child's name from the admission register under regulation 9(1)(f) of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 when the conditions in that regulation are met. Please confirm in writing when the deletion has been made.
Yours sincerely,
Signature, if sending a paper letter
Your name
Fill the blanks on paper or in your own email or document editor, or use the optional local editor below. You can also select and copy the blank letter text using your browser. TheLearnDen does not send the letter.
Fill the letter on this device
The editor works in this open browser. It does not send the letter or check whether it applies to your circumstances. Keep a copy before leaving.
Open the local editor
After you send it
Keep a copy and a record of delivery. Ask the school to confirm the register deletion. A missing acknowledgement is a reason to follow up, not proof that a legal condition has or has not been met.
The legal duty to provide a suitable full-time education continues. Our full deregistration guide explains the current route and the separate duty to educate. The free home education guide can help with practical planning.
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Ad — optional reading for planning home education
TheLearnDen earns a commission on qualifying purchases through the Bookshop.org links in this section.
Our free home education guide and learning checklists are starting points. You do not need to buy a book to use this page or the letter.
If you would like a longer book about planning home education, The Home Education Handbook by Gill Hines and Alison Baverstock is one option to look at. The publisher describes guidance on planning learning, socialisation and motivation. We have checked its publisher description and edition details, not tested the book.
This edition was published in 2019. Use it only as optional practical reading. Check current official sources for legal requirements. You could also ask your library whether it has a copy.
Reader feedback on this book's approach is mixed. If you want a practical guide centred on parent-led home education, inspect a sample before buying to see whether its approach suits you. It is optional background reading, not a source for today's legal requirements.
View The Home Education Handbook at Bookshop.org (Ad — paid link)