Reduced timetable

Also called Part-time timetable, Modified timetable

A pupil attending for less than full time. Lawful only as a temporary, agreed, reviewed arrangement.

What it is

A part-time timetable is where a pupil of compulsory school age attends school for less than the full week.

All pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to full-time education. A part-time timetable is an exception, and statutory guidance is clear that it must not be used to manage a pupil's behaviour and must not be an indefinite arrangement.

Where it applies

Any pupil. In practice it is used most for pupils with SEND, with anxiety-related difficulties, or after a period out of school.

How it works

To be lawful it should be part of a planned reintegration, agreed with parents, time-limited with a defined end date, and reviewed regularly. Schools should notify the local authority, and many councils require it.

A pupil on a part-time timetable is still on roll and the school retains responsibility for the education not being delivered.

What you can ask for

Ask for it in writing with a review date and an end date. An arrangement with neither is one that will still be running in a year.

Ask what education is provided for the hours your child is not there, and who is providing it. Nothing is not an acceptable answer.

Ask what has to change for the hours to increase, and who is doing it. If the plan is only that your child will cope better, that is not a plan.

You can decline. A reduced timetable requires parental agreement, and agreeing to one under pressure is how families end up months later with a child on nine hours a week.

Where to get help

SENDIASS and IPSEA. Not Fine In School if it arose from anxiety. If it has become permanent, the section 19 duty and the Ombudsman are the routes.