Part-Time Timetables: What a School Can and Cannot Do

It usually arrives as a suggestion rather than a decision. Things are difficult, everyone is struggling, so how about mornings only for a while. Most parents say yes, because it sounds like help and because the alternative on the table is worse.

Sometimes it is help. A short, agreed, reviewed reduction can be exactly the right thing while a child recovers or reintegrates. The problem is what happens when there is no end date, no plan, and no review, and mornings only quietly becomes the arrangement for a year.

Here is what the guidance actually permits, so you can tell the difference.

The starting point is full-time

Paragraph 65 of the July 2026 guidance is unambiguous:

“All pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to a full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have.”

Education can be split between school and somewhere else, for example under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 or sections 42 or 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014, but that is still full-time education. It is not the same as being sent home at lunchtime with nothing arranged for the afternoon.

When a part-time timetable is allowed

Paragraph 66 sets the test. There may be a need for less than full-time education:

“In very exceptional circumstances, where it is in a pupil’s best interests … through a temporary part-time timetable to meet their individual needs.”

The example the guidance gives is a medical condition that stops a child attending full-time, where reduced hours let them access as much education as possible. And then it says the thing that matters most:

“A part-time timetable should not be used to manage a pupil’s behaviour.”

If reduced hours have been put forward because of behaviour, that is outside what the guidance allows, whatever it is being called.

The four conditions

Paragraph 67 says a part-time timetable should:

• Have the agreement of both the school and the parent the pupil normally lives with. Not a notification. Agreement.
• Have a clear ambition and be part of the child’s wider support, health care or reintegration plan.
• Have regular review dates that include the child and their parents, so it stays in place for the shortest time necessary.
• Have a proposed end date, after which the child is expected to attend full-time, at school or in alternative provision. It can be extended through review, and the guidance accepts that a child with a long term health condition may need one for a prolonged period.

Two more expectations sit alongside. Where the child has a social worker, the school is expected to keep them informed and involved. Where the child has an EHC plan, paragraph 69 says the school should discuss the timetable with the local authority so the support package can be reviewed quickly.

The bit that is written into law

For schools maintained by a local authority, and special schools not maintained by one, this is not only guidance. Under regulation 11(6) of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, leave of absence for a part-time timetable can be granted where the school and a parent the pupil normally lives with:

“have agreed that, exceptionally, the pupil should temporarily be educated only part-time and have agreed the times and dates when the pupil will, during the period of temporary part-time education, be expected to attend the school.”

Agreement on the specific times and dates is part of the legal test, not an administrative nicety. Schools that do not have to follow regulation 11 must still record it the same way, on the same basis of agreement.

It has to be recorded properly

The sessions your child is not in school must appear on the register, normally as code C2, the leave of absence code for a compulsory school age pupil on a part-time timetable. Code X is used for a pupil who is not of compulsory school age.

This matters for two reasons. Recorded properly, those sessions are authorised, so they do not build towards a fine. Recorded properly, they are also visible, which makes it much harder for a long-running arrangement to go unnoticed. The guidance also now makes clear that registration must be taken at the same time for all pupils, including those on part-time timetables.

If you are not sure what has been recorded, ask for a copy of the attendance record. Our guide to the codes explains what each one means.

An EHC plan does not shrink to fit the timetable

This is the point most worth holding on to. Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 says that where an EHC plan specifies special educational provision:

“The local authority must secure the specified special educational provision for the child or young person.”

The only exception in the section is where the parent or young person has made suitable alternative arrangements themselves. Reduced hours at school do not remove the duty, and they do not reduce it in proportion. If the plan says a certain amount of something, that is what has to be secured.

Where a child is disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, there is also a duty to make reasonable adjustments under section 20 of that Act. The attendance guidance points schools at it directly and says adjustments should be agreed with, and regularly reviewed with, the child and their parents.

What to ask for, in order

1. Ask for it in writing. What the exact days and times are, why it is happening, what the ambition is, when the review dates are, and what the proposed end date is. Those are the four things the guidance expects, so asking for them is not a confrontation.
2. Ask what code is being used for the sessions your child is not there.
3. Ask what education happens in the missing hours. If the answer is none, ask what the plan is for the rest of the entitlement.
4. If there is an EHC plan, tell the council. Not just the school. The council holds the section 42 duty and the guidance expects the school to be talking to it anyway.
5. If it is about behaviour, say so plainly. Ask whether the school is treating this as a behaviour measure, because the guidance says it should not be used that way.
6. Keep the emails. A dated written trail is worth more than any phone call you will struggle to recall in six months.

Free, impartial help exists for this and it is worth using before things escalate. Your local SENDIASS supports parents through exactly these conversations, and IPSEA publishes the clearest free legal explanations of SEND law in England.

If school access has broken down completely

A part-time timetable is sometimes the last step before a child stops attending altogether. If that is where you are, two things are worth reading. The section 19 duty is your council’s legal responsibility to arrange education for a child who cannot attend. School refusal and school avoidance covers what tends to help before that point.

How common is this where you live

In 2024/25, 176,361 children in England missed at least half of school, and rates vary enormously between areas. See the figures for your council.

Common questions

Is a part-time timetable legal in England?

Yes, but only narrowly. The statutory guidance allows one in very exceptional circumstances, where it is in the child’s best interests, on a temporary basis, and only where the school and a parent the child normally lives with have agreed it, including the days and times. It should not be used to manage behaviour.

Can a school put my child on reduced hours without my agreement?

No. Agreement from the school and from a parent the child normally lives with is part of the test, and for maintained and non-maintained special schools that agreement, including the specific times and dates, is written into regulation 11(6) of the 2024 Regulations.

How long can a part-time timetable last?

It is meant to be temporary and to run for the shortest time necessary, with regular reviews and a proposed end date. It can be extended through review, and the guidance accepts a child with a long term health condition may need one for a prolonged period, but there should always be a plan and a date.

What attendance code is used for a part-time timetable?

Normally code C2, the leave of absence code for a compulsory school age pupil subject to a part-time timetable. Code X applies to a pupil who is not of compulsory school age. Those sessions are authorised, so they do not count towards a penalty notice.

Does a part-time timetable reduce what an EHC plan has to deliver?

No. Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires the local authority to secure the special educational provision specified in the plan. The only exception in that section is where the parent or young person has made suitable alternative arrangements. Fewer hours in school does not reduce the duty.

Can we be fined while my child is on a part-time timetable?

Not for the agreed sessions, because they should be recorded as authorised leave of absence under code C2. Fines follow unauthorised absence. If those sessions have been coded as unauthorised instead, that is worth querying straight away.

Sources

• Department for Education, Working together to improve school attendance, statutory guidance, July 2026 edition, paragraphs 65 to 70 and 345 to 348.
• The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, regulation 11(6).
• Children and Families Act 2014, section 42, duty to secure special educational provision.
• Equality Act 2010, section 20, duty to make reasonable adjustments.
• Education Act 1996, section 19.