If your child has not attended a state school in the area, no consent is required from the local authority; indeed it is worth emphasising that no parent (who has full parental rights) needs permission to home educate per se.

Parents are not required to seek the consent of the education authority if:

• their child has never attended a public school
• their child has never attended a public school in that authority’s area
• their child is being withdrawn from an independent school
• their child has finished primary education in one school but has not started secondary education in another
  the school the child has been attending has closed
• the child has not attained compulsory education age (the school intake date, usually August, following the child’s fifth birthday)

If you are withdrawing your child from a state school, however, the local authority will recommend the granting or refusal of ‘consent’ based on the education provision you have outlined. Whether or not you are removing your child from school, you are entitled to receive a copy of the local authority’s report and recommendations.

My child is enrolled at school |  My child is not enrolled at school