Advice needed- removing child from school

[Lizzie]

My sister's child is being bullied in her school by her teacher since a CP plan was very unfairly put in place. The teacher has been gunning for my sister since they had a disagreement about her daughter's haircut.

What rights does she have to remove her children from the school? They are 8and 5. She's trying to transfer school but her little girl keeps having headaches at school cos she's so stressed and the teachers aren't notifying her anymore. Can we remove children whilst looking for another school?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Lizzie,

Welcome to the parents' board and thank you for your post.

You say that your sister's child is being bullied in her school by her teacher. There is a child protection plan in place, which you say is unfair. You say that the teacher is 'gunning' for your sister. You would like to know what rights your sister has to remove her children from the school. You say she is trying to transfer schools and would like to know if the children could be removed whilst looking for another school.

I am sorry to hear about the difficult situation your sister is facing with school.

Your sister could, in theory, withdraw her children from school and choose to home educate. There are some exceptions to this, such as if the child is subject to a school attendance order. There are expected standards to home education and possible consequences if these are not met. You can read more about this here. Please note that once a child is removed from the school roll, the local authority is no longer under a duty to provide education, and this duty falls to the parent. This could affect how soon your daughter is able to find another school for the children and would impact upon any transfer process.

Importantly, withdrawing the children from school could cause children's services to become more concerned and this could lead them to take escalate action. Therefore if your sister does intend to do this, it is important that she discusses it with the social worker first.

I would advise that your sister ask for a meeting with the Headteacher in order to discuss her concerns. This may be a useful way of putting some measures in place to address the issue without disrupting the children's education.

Child Law Advice operate an education law line which she may find useful to contact on 0300 330 5485.

Best wishes,

Suzie.