Sample deregistration letter for schools
Dear Mr headteacher
Re: Tommy Jones 18/07/2001
After careful consideration we have decided to withdraw our son from your school in order to take personal responsibility for his education. Please delete his name from the register in accordance with Education (Pupil Registration) Regulation 8(1)(d) 2006, as he/she is now receiving education otherwise than at school.
Please confirm receipt of this letter and inform us of the date that our son/daughter’s name was removed from the register.
Yours sincerely etc.
Special Needs children in Special Schools
Although regulation 8 (1) (d) effectively allows deregistration on demand, it does not apply to children who have been placed by the LA in special schools. Regulation 8(2) provides that in this situation a child cannot be deregistered without the LA's consent. This restriction is meant
to protect the interests of more vulnerable children by ensuring that their special needs aremet. Section 7 of the 1996 Act makes it clear that the
right to "otherwise" education extends to children with special needs.
Dear [insert name of LA officer]
Re - (Child's name - date of birth - special school attended)
We are writing as the parents of the above named child, who is a child for whom the LA currently maintains a statement of special educational needs and who is a registered pupil at (name) Special School, (address). After careful consideration, and following discussions with staff and teachers from the above named school, we have now decided to take full responsibility for providing for our son's education 'otherwise than at school', in accordance with section 7 of the 1996 Education Act. We therefore seek the consent of the Local Authority to allow (child's name) name to be deleted from the admission register of the school, in accordance with Education (Pupil Registration)Regulation 8(2) 2006. Once consent has been given we will provide our son/daughter with an efficient full-time education suitable to his/her age,ability, aptitude and to his/her special educational needs.We look forward to consent for (child's name) name to be deleted from the admission register being given to the proprietor of (name) Special School in the very near future and request that confirmation of such action be forwarded to us within the next 14 days.
Yours etc
Educational Philosophies, Wales
An educational philosophy is an overview of your beliefs and values. Some people also use the term "educational philosophy" to include a report about the educational provision they are making
for their child, including examples of how these beliefs and values are translated into action; others use the expression just to mean the short statement of their beliefs. The law says that "the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions". An educational philosophy is a way to demonstrate that
you are causing your child to receive efficient education as required by law.‘efficient’ has been broadly described in case law as an education that ‘achieves that which it sets out to achieve’" (p.5)
The Welsh Guidelines ask for "an indication that parents have thought through their reasons for
home educating and what they hope to achieve" (section 4.1) For this reason it is worth describing what you are setting out to achieve, because you will be judged efficient if you achieve your aims. This is what is meant by an "educational philosophy", which sets out your beliefs and values and states what you want for your child as he/she grows up.Your "statement of values" can be as long or as short as you want. Some people want to write pages and pages and others find that what they believe and what they are trying to achieve can be summed up in a couple of paragraphs. You are likely to go into greater depth with your report, giving examples of how your philosophy works in practice and what sort of resources you are using.
How do you write an Ed. Phil.?
There are no hard and fast rules for writing an educational philosophy. The rationale for using the
formula belief statement + resources + report is that in theory this gives all the information that a
reasonable local authority or court would need in order to see whether it appears that your
children are receiving efficient full time education suitable to their age, aptitude and ability:
•
It sets out the beliefs by which you live, thereby asserting your right to educate your
children in accordance with your religious or philosophical convictions.
•
It says what you want for your children, which means that your educational provision can
be judged efficient because it is achieving what it sets out to achieve.
•
It gives further information about what you are providing for your children's education, and
gives a picture of how your home education works in practice.