Going back to school after home education

If you decide your child will go to school, this page explains how to get a place in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and how to help your child settle. It’s the same factual help whichever way you choose.

The short version

You don’t need anyone’s permission to stop home educating. You apply for a school place in the usual way.
Mid-year applications are called in-year applications. Most go through your council’s school admissions team. That is usually a different team from the home education team.
If your child has an EHC plan, IDP, CSP or statement, the route is different – see SEN and additional needs.
You decide what to share with the school about your child’s learning.

Find your council in our council directory, then look for “school admissions” on its website.

England

Applying for a place

You can apply at any time. The School Admissions Code says a parent can apply for a place at any school, at any time.
Who to apply to. Every council must publish how in-year applications work in its area by 31 August each year. In some areas the council handles them. Elsewhere, or for some schools – such as academies, free schools, foundation and voluntary aided schools – you apply to the school. Your council’s website tells you which.
A decision in writing within 15 school days. If you are refused, the letter must give the reason and explain your right to appeal.
If the school has a place, it must normally offer it. It must not refuse just because your child followed a different curriculum, or because information from a previous school is missing.
If the school is full, places go by its published oversubscription criteria. A school can’t tell you that you may only join the waiting list – you can still apply. A waiting list is ranked by those criteria, not by when you joined.

What can and can’t be asked

Admission authorities may ask for proof of address where it matters for their criteria.
They must not interview you or your child, ask for photographs or ask for money as part of admissions.
They must not give priority based on parents’ jobs, marital status, money or education.

Appeals in plain words

If you are refused a place, you can appeal. An independent appeal panel looks again at the decision, and its decision is binding. For in-year appeals, the hearing is normally held within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged. Your refusal letter tells you how to appeal and by when.

Fair Access (in-year fair access protocol)

Every council must have a Fair Access Protocol. It helps children who can’t get a school place in-year through the normal route. The groups it can cover include children who have been out of education for four or more weeks, and children with special educational needs but no EHC plan. If the protocol is used for your child, a school place must be allocated within 20 school days. Ask your council’s admissions team whether your child is eligible.

Year group

Children normally join the year group for their age. You can ask for a place outside the normal age group, for example if your child has had ill health. The admission authority decides case by case, in your child’s best interests, and must give reasons. Mention this in your application – our letter has a line for it. If you are offered a place in a different year group from the one you asked for, there is no right of appeal against that.

Wales

Contact your council’s school admissions team. It can tell you how to apply for the school you want and how long a decision takes in your area.
You don’t need permission to stop home educating.
If you are refused, you can appeal. Appeals follow the Welsh Government’s School Admission Appeals Code, in force from 1 November 2023.
Additional learning needs: see below.

Scotland

You don’t need the council’s consent to send your child to school. (Consent is only needed to withdraw a child from a council school.)
For your local (catchment) school, ask the council or the school’s head teacher how to enrol.
For another school, make a placing request to the council in writing. During the school year, the council has 2 months to decide. If it doesn’t answer in time, the request counts as refused, and you can appeal.
The council can only refuse for reasons set out in law – for example, if the school is full – and must give its reason in writing.
Appeals: tell the council’s appeal committee within 28 days. If you still disagree, you can appeal to the sheriff within 28 days of the committee’s decision.

Northern Ireland

Ask the school you’d like, or the Education Authority (EA), how to apply for a place in your child’s year group.
Each school’s Board of Governors applies the school’s own admissions criteria. Ask for them before you apply.
If a place in a year other than Year 1 or Year 8 is refused, ask the school what you can do next. The Department of Education publishes the procedure for admissions complaints for these year groups.
The Department of Education has guidance on children who move to post-primary school a year early or a year late.
The EA home education team: [email protected], 028 9031 7428.

SEN and additional needs

England: EHC plans

Contact your council’s SEN team, not the admissions team. A school named in an EHC plan must admit the child.
You can ask for a particular school to be named in the plan. The council must consult the school. It must name it unless the school is unsuitable for your child’s age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs, or it would be incompatible with the efficient education of others or the efficient use of resources.
The council’s letter about the school it plans to name explains your right to appeal.
No EHC plan but SEN? Apply in the usual way. Children with SEN but no EHC plan are one of the Fair Access groups. You can also ask the council for an EHC needs assessment. Talk to the school’s SENCO about support.

Wales: additional learning needs (ALN) and IDPs

An individual development plan (IDP) can name a school. That is one of the parts of an IDP you can challenge.
Talk to the school’s additional learning needs co-ordinator (ALNCo) or your council’s ALN team.
You can ask the council to reconsider a decision. You can appeal some council decisions to the Education Tribunal for Wales within 8 weeks of the council’s final decision letter.

Scotland: additional support needs (ASN) and CSPs

Councils have duties to identify, provide for and review children’s additional support needs. Tell the council and the school about your child’s needs when you apply.
If your child has a co-ordinated support plan (CSP), an appeal about a placing request goes to the Additional Support Needs Tribunals, not the appeal committee.

Northern Ireland: SEN statements

A statement names the school in part 4. When you get a draft statement, you can say which school you want your child to go to.
Talk to the EA officer for your child’s case. DARS (the Special Education Disputes Avoidance and Resolution Service) offers neutral advice. You can appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Secondary age and exams

Courses already started. If your child is part-way through GCSE, IGCSE or National courses, ask the school early which exam boards and courses it teaches, and how any coursework or practical work will be handled.
Private-candidate entries. If you’ve already entered your child at an exam centre, talk to the centre and the new school before you change anything.
Results so far. Bring copies of any results or certificates.
After 16. Sixth forms and colleges set their own entry requirements and application dates – check each one. In England, young people must stay in education or training until 18, for example at a college, on an apprenticeship, or part-time study alongside 20 or more hours a week of work or volunteering.
See also exams and private candidates.

The new law in England and Wales

Status on 25 October 2026: not in force. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 creates “children not in school” registers, but the register duties haven’t started and no start date has been announced. Nothing changes today when your child goes back to school. More about the new law

When the register duties do start, parents of a child on a register will have to tell the council within 15 days if the child stops being eligible – for example, by becoming a registered pupil at a school. A flexi-schooled child can still be eligible for the register. The home education parts of the Act don’t apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

You choose what to share, and when. Many families find a short pack helps the school welcome their child:

a one-page summary of what your child has been learning, and how they like to learn;
where they are in reading, writing and maths, with a few work samples;
any exam results or certificates;
health, SEN or therapy reports that would help the school support them.

Classfern Family members can download an evidence pack from their records – you choose what goes in and give it to the school yourself; Classfern never sends anything to a school. About Classfern Family

Helping your child settle

Ask whether your child can visit before their first day, and meet their class teacher or form tutor.
Sort out uniform, kit, lunches and the journey a week or two ahead.
Ease into school-day routines – waking up, meals and bedtimes – before the start date.
Keep up friendships, clubs and activities your child enjoys. Ask the school about clubs where they can meet classmates.
Agree with the class teacher (and the SENCO, ALNCo or support staff, if relevant) how you’ll keep in touch in the first weeks.
Expect some tiredness at first. New routines take time.
It’s fine to change your mind later, either way. The same official rules apply each time.

Flexi-schooling: a middle route

In England, flexi-schooling means your child is on a school roll and is educated at home part of the week. It’s at the head teacher’s discretion – the school can say no. In Wales the decision also rests with the head teacher. In Scotland, flexi-schooling has no basis in law, and part-time arrangements are agreed case by case. Flexi-schooling request letter

Checklist

Letter: applying for a school place

Template – check current guidance before sending. Nothing you type below is saved or sent anywhere – it only fills in the letter on this page.

Applying for a school place after home education Template

A short covering note to go with your council’s or the school’s in-year application form – it doesn’t replace the form. Not for a child with an EHC plan (England), an IDP that names a school (Wales), a CSP (Scotland) or a statement (Northern Ireland): contact the council’s SEN or ALN team, or the Education Authority, instead. Check current guidance before you send it.

To: The school admissions team, [council or school name] Date: [date] Dear Admissions team, In-year application for a school place: [child’s name], date of birth [date of birth] Please find enclosed my in-year application for [child’s name]. [He/She/They] [is/are] currently home educated and [is/are] not on the roll of any school. My first preference is [school name], and I would like [him/her/them] to start from [start date], or as soon as a place is available. [He/She/They] would normally be in Year [X] for [his/her/their] age. [Only if you are asking for a different year group: I would like you to consider a place in Year [X] because [reason]. I understand this is decided case by case.] [If it applies: [He/She/They] [has/have] [special educational needs / a health condition]. I am happy to share relevant reports with the school.] Please let me know if you need anything else from me, such as proof of address, and confirm the outcome in writing. Yours sincerely, [your name] [your address]

More letters: letters and forms.

Questions parents ask

Do I need permission to stop home educating?

No. You apply for a school place in the usual way. In England, the School Admissions Code says a parent can apply for a place at any school, at any time.

Who do I apply to?

Usually your council’s school admissions team. In England, some schools (for example academies and voluntary aided schools) may handle their own in-year applications, so check your council’s website. In Northern Ireland, ask the school or the Education Authority.

How long does a decision take?

In England, you must be told in writing within 15 school days. In Scotland, a placing request made during the school year must be decided within 2 months.

Can a school refuse because my child was home educated?

In England, if a school has a place, it must normally offer it. The Code lists reasons a school must not use to refuse, such as a child having followed a different curriculum. If you are refused, you are told why and how to appeal.

Will my child go into the year group for their age?

Usually, yes. In England you can ask for a place outside the normal age group. The admission authority decides case by case, in your child’s best interests, and gives reasons.

Does my child have to sit tests or an interview?

Not as part of an admissions decision in England: admission authorities must not interview children or parents. A school may want to see where your child is once they start, to plan their learning.

What if my child has an EHC plan?

Talk to your council’s SEN team, not the admissions team. You can ask for a particular school to be named in the plan. A school named in an EHC plan must admit the child.

What if we change our minds again?

That’s fine. Families move between home education and school in both directions. The same official rules apply each time.

Official sources

Last checked against these sources: 25 October 2026.

General information, not legal advice. This page sums up the official guidance in our own words. Rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and can change. Check the official sources and your council’s own guidance, and get qualified advice for your situation. Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department for Education, the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government, the Education Authority or any council. Official guidance is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.