In the seaside town of Whitby, north Yorkshire, 13-year-old Evie bounces into the home she shares with her grandparents full of excitement after a school theatre trip to Durham. “It's a joy to see,” says her grandmother and legal guardian Jo Morris. “A year ago she struggled to step foot inside the school gates let alone take part in extra-curricular activities.”
Morris says the turnaround in Evie's attitude to school is due to flexi-schooling – the practice where parents choose to home educate their children for part of the week.
“She wasn't coping with the transition to secondary school and this, combined with the fact she's autistic and has dyslexia, led her on a downward spiral,” says Morris. “She cried every day before school and became ill – not eating, making herself sick and self-harming.”
Evie is now on a “trial return” to full-time education having spent two terms receiving lessons at home for three afternoons a week delivered by her grandparents, who are both former teachers.
Without this arrangement in place, Morris says she has “absolutely no doubt” Evie would not be in full-time education today – and worse still “she would be very unwell”.
Flexi-schooling is an arrangement where a child is registered at school full-time, but the head teacher has agreed they can be educated at home for part of the week.
It has been around in the UK since the 1980s but has flown under the radar of many school leaders, partly because the only official advice on flexi-schooling is included in guidance on home education.
Ofsted raised concerns about flexi-schooling in its annual report published at the end of last year, which highlighted the fact increasing number of children are experiencing “unorthodox” patterns of education.
It is unclear exactly how many children are currently being flexi-schooled because guidance states home learning days should be recorded as “authorised absences”.
Although the numbers “may not be huge”, Ofsted's chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver says inspectors are increasingly coming across flexi-schooling arrangements.
Data from Teacher Tapp, an app that surveys teachers, also suggest flex-schooling is on the rise. A survey in April 2024 found 28% of teachers who took part said their school had at least one or more flexi-schooled pupils, up from 17% in 2019.
However, some may have included pupils on part-time timetables as the two are often conflated.
Alternative education model
Interest in flexi-schooling has surged among parents who are “desperately searching for an alternative education model to meet their child's needs”, according to Juliette Beveridge, who runs the Flexischooling Families UK Facebook group.
The group has more than 25,000 members, 12,000 of which joined in the past year. Its interactive map shows more than 590 schools have at some point allowed pupils to be flexi-schooled. The majority are primary schools and the map shows most make decisions about flexi-schooling on a case-by-case basis.
Beveridge says sensory issues, physical or mental health needs are making full-time school “impossible” for some children.
She estimates among families interested in the idea of flexi-schooling there is “roughly a 50/50 split” between parents whose children are not coping in school, due to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or emotionally-based school non-attendance (EBSNA), and parents who are interested in flexi-schooling for philosophical reasons.
The length of time a flexi-timetabled child spends in school varies depending on the individual arrangement between the school and the parent, although schools tend to prefer at least three days in school. On home days, there is no requirement to follow the national curriculum.
Some families incorporate elements of learning into the day, but others pursue children's interests, visit museums, attend forest school or outsource education to other providers. At Stroud Green Primary School in north London, one child attends Welsh school on flexi-Fridays.
“Some parents of children with SEND use flexi-days as downtime to help their child recover from experiences that overwhelm, stress, severe anxiety and even autistic burnout from attempting the full-time school week,” explains Jon Paxman, associate researcher at the Relationships Foundation.
The foundation's 2022 review of flexi-schooling for children found it could be “game changing” for neurodivergent pupils.
With more children unable – or unwilling – to access full-time mainstream education, schools are under increasing pressure to meet attendance targets.
Absence rates have continued to rise since the pandemic, with nearly one in five children in England missing the equivalent of one afternoon per week in autumn and spring 2023.
Children missing school on a Friday continues to be a problem potentially linked to the fact more people are working from home. “There doesn't seem to be such a desire to send a child to school if you're working from home,” says Sir Martyn.
Some might see flexi-schooling as a way of bringing down absence rates in their setting.
Unlike part-time education, which is a temporary intervention used to help a child return to mainstream full-time education, flexi-schooling arrangements can be indefinite.
Ofsted worries about the long-term impact of flex-schooling and the fact education has become “fractured and fragmented” for too many children.
However, proponents of flexi-schooling say it can be life-changing and is very different to part-time education.
“Part-time education is a reactive and remedial response to a child who is already struggling whereas flexi-schooling is a positive and pre-emptive [response] and can be continued if it works well for a child,” says Sarah Sudea who set up Finding the Flex to help schools and local authorities develop flexible education.
Teaching unions are broadly in support of the approach, and some head teachers acknowledge its benefits – not only in meeting the needs of their pupils but also keeping their schools viable.
Smaller, rural schools like Hollinsclough Academy in Staffordshire can struggle to maintain pupil numbers. The primary school has capacity for 60 pupils but only has 35 pupils on roll and all are registered as “flexi”. It launched its flexi-schooling offer in 2008, when it had just five pupils and was facing closure.
All pupils attend school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with flexi-attendance on Monday and Friday. Some still attend Monday to Friday.
Subjects that parents find more accessible to teach at home, such as PE, art, design and technology, and computing are timetabled on Mondays and Fridays.
Children also receive a home-school link pack with activities to do at home, such as reading with comprehension, practising times tables, phonics and spellings.
“With a positive, academically supportive home environment, flexi-schooled children can do very well,” says head teacher Lynda O'Sullivan.
Flexi-schooling operates entirely at a school's discretion, explains Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). “Decisions are made case-by-case dependent on children's needs and considering any impact on other pupils and staff,” she says.
The fact it “retains many of the benefits” of school-based learning and social contact with peers, “can make it the right option to meet the needs of a small minority of pupils”, she adds.
If managed carefully, it can also be a “tool” to get pupils back into classrooms, she says.
However, she says school leaders worry that the requirement for schools to mark children as absent – even if it is an authorised absence – on days when they are home-educated makes their attendance figures look bad.
Despite calls from campaigners to introduce a new flexi-schooling absence code, the Department for Education has confirmed that it has “no plans” to do so.
Local authorities have varying approaches to flexi-schooling. In its guidance on home education, Westminster City Council in London is clear that flexi-schooling “is not an approach for delivery of education that is encouraged or supported by the council”.
In contrast, Gloucestershire County Council's guidance says “some schools with significant flexi-schooling numbers have had good outcomes from Ofsted inspections”.
Sudea is working with settings, including a local authority, to implement flexi-schooling policies. “One of the urgent pain points is around SEND expenditure,” she says. “If we can gather enough evidence to prove a child's needs can be better met through a flexible arrangement, it reduces the risk of knock-on escalations down the track and is a viable, low-cost option, local authorities will be in a better position to support it.”
Hollinsclough Primary School offers outdoor activities to all pupils including those who are flexi-schooled
Record numbers of children are now being home-schooled full-time. Meanwhile an estimated 300,000 are missing from education entirely, according to the Education Policy Institute.
The death of Sara Sharif who was removed from school by her family has fuelled concerns about the safety of children who are not in regular contact with professionals like teachers who can pick up on warning signs.
A register of children who are not in school is one of the measures included in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill currently going through parliament.
“While this will not in itself keep children safe, it will help to establish exactly how many children are being educated other than at school,” explains Heather Sandy, chair of the Association of Directors of Children's Services’ education policy committee.
Finding the Flex is calling for flexi-schooled children to be exempt from the register in cases where the arrangement is being effectively managed by a head teacher and the right policies and contracts are in place.
“Flexi-schooled children are registered at the school and head teachers retain oversight of the arrangement, bear responsibility for the child's academic performance and have the power to revoke agreements,” says Sudea.
But Heather Stack, an independent change strategist who works with children's services leaders to implement improvement programmes, says the lack of monitoring is a real concern given the high numbers of children not attending school full-time.
There are also concerns flexi-schooling could be misused.
“Without a clear directive in place from the DfE, flexi-schooling could become the perfect vehicle for some schools to off-roll their challenging or more vulnerable children without adequate safeguards in place,” says Stack.
Some argue it is better for vulnerable children to be in school for part of the time rather than not at all. “It helps maintain connections with education professionals, which can be vital for children's safeguarding and wellbeing,” explains Sarah Hannafin of the NAHT.
Sudea is adamant flexi-schooling is enabling many children like Evie to stay in education when full-time school is untenable. “It strengthens inclusion, particularly for children with SEND, and supports their social and emotional needs,” she adds.
For Evie, the noise in the corridors, smells in the dining room, behavioural issues of other pupils were all too much for her to cope with. “In the end, it came down to flexi-schooling or being home-schooled,” says her grandmother. “But I would not hesitate to switch her back to flexi if her needs do not continue to be met.”
FLEXI-SCHOOLING SAVED OUR SMALL SCHOOL FROM CLOSURE
Huxley Primary School is a one-form entry school with capacity for 49 children based in a village in rural Chester.
Four years ago, with five pupils on roll, it introduced flexi-schooling as a solution to boost enrolment and prevent closure. Today the school is at full capacity with 27 children on the waiting list.
“We currently have six full-time pupils and the remaining 87% of the school are flexi-schooled and attend for three compulsory days a week, from Tuesday to Thursday,” explains head teacher Rachel Gourley.
The school caters for children who have previously been home educated, children at risk of missing school for emotional reasons, such as anxiety, and children whose previous provision did not meet their needs.
“We have a lot of autistic children, but you wouldn't know it if you walked around the school because their needs are being met,” says Gourley. “Our therapeutic, trauma-informed and attachment-aware approach enables pupils to feel safe, secure and understood.”
She says children who are flexi-schooled are making good progress and doing well in SATs. “So we know it works but it needs a lot of planning to work effectively,” she adds. “We work on a rotation curriculum across the whole year, which means no week runs the same and all flexi children access every subject area with face-to-face content taught by our teachers. Full-time pupils access a full curriculum as they would in any other school, it's just taught on a rotation.”
On flexi-schooling days, parents upload pictures onto an online platform to show evidence of how they are supporting their child's learning.
“Many of our families look for a school that values meeting a child's social and emotional needs while maintaining high academic expectations,” says Gourley.
Huxley Primary School takes a therapeutic, trauma-informed and attachment-aware approach
FLEXIBILITY HELPS CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL NEEDS
St Mary's Church of England Primary School in the London Borough of Hillingdon introduced flexi-schooling in September 2024.
Head teacher Alison Nettleship says their offer was designed to appeal to families who prefer a combination of home education and traditional schooling. As the school's special educational needs co-ordinator, she was also keen to ensure the school was “as inclusive as possible”.
“We'd never heard of flexi-schooling until a family approached us,” say Nettleship. “We looked into it and realised it meets the needs of so many of our children and families, including those struggling with full-time education post-Covid.
“We also thought it would help boost numbers. We are currently around three quarters full but have a high turnover of families.”
The one-form entry school, which has 145 pupils on roll, has been affected by families moving out of London due to rising costs and the fact refugee families living in a local hostel were rehomed elsewhere.
Despite interest from several families, only one family has taken up the flex-schooling offer so far.
“When the governors’ signed it off, we decided we would limit the numbers to no more than a few in each class,” says Nettleship. “If half the class were flexi-schooled, I think it would have an impact on teachers and the other children.”
The school encourages flexi-schooled children to attend at least three days per week so they can build strong relationships with peers.
“Families might opt to attend specific sessions, such as PE, forest school, or Spanish lessons,” says Nettleship. “We provide resources for English and maths and expect parents to complete this work with the children at home. Other subjects are covered in school and parents are free to choose the home curriculum, focusing on enrichment activities or supporting their child's specific learning areas.”
The home-schooling element is not formally monitored. “However, the child's progress is assessed in school in the same way as all other pupils,” explains Nettleship.
St Mary's limits how many children can be flexi-schooled
“Flexi-schooling may not work for some children or they may fall behind. It is important to meet with parents every half term and have an agreement in place that outlines the days of the week they will attend and what we expect on home learning days. For example, attendance rates should not drop below 93% on school days, so it is important to state that clearly.”
TIPS FLEXI-SCHOOLING: KEYS TO SUCCESS
Create a flexi-schooling policy. This should set out your principles and how arrangements will be monitored, explains Lucy Walker-Collins, head teacher at Stroud Green Primary School in north London. “We meet with families every six weeks to review the child's attainment and we monitor attendance,” she says.
Draw up a written contract. A written contract helps the school and family be clear on roles and responsibilities. “It should be reviewed at least once a term,” says Sarah Sudea of Finding the Flex.
Address concerns early on. It is vital to ensure flexi-schooling is working for a particular child. “If there are concerns about progress, it's essential to address these and assess if flexi-schooling remains the best option,” says Alison Nettleship, head teacher at St Mary's Primary School.
Get the timetabling right. A small-scale study by the Relationships Foundation found timetabling is key to successful flexi-schooling arrangements. “Our study suggests arrangements generally work best where pupils are taking one to two days out of the school environment each week,” says co-author Jon Paxman. “Some older children taking three to four days out were reported to be struggling with school friendships and learning progress.”
Be clear on safeguarding responsibilities. This can be a confusing area especially when children attend alternative provision when not in school. Where a child attends another setting “it is incumbent on the parent to ensure the adequacy of the safeguarding arrangements”, says Hertfordshire County Council's flexi-schooling guidance. “The head teacher should, however, still act in response to any concerns that may arise,” it adds.
Work in partnership with families. Parents’ role in educating their children must be recognised and respected. “Our parents hold a strong joint educator role alongside school and we work together to ensure the best educational provision for their child,” says Rachel Gourley head teacher at Huxley Primary School.
Guard against misuse. One concern is flexi-schooling could be used by schools as a way of moving pupils they find challenging. “Requests for flexi-schooling arrangements should be made by the family and not the school,” says Sarah Sudea of Finding the Flex.
