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Part-Time Timetables at School: What the Rules Say, When One Is Allowed and Your Rights as a Parent

A part-time timetable at school, sometimes called a reduced timetable, means your child is only expected in for some lessons or part of the day. Government guidance in England allows it only in very exceptional circumstances, for a short time, with your agreement and a plan to get back to full-time. If your child's school has suggested one, or put your child on one without asking, this explains what the rules say and what you can do.

What the guidance says

The rules sit in the Department for Education's statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, updated in July 2026. It applies to maintained schools, academies and independent schools in England. It starts from the position that all pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to a full-time education suited to their age, aptitude and any special educational needs.

It then allows that "in very exceptional circumstances, where it is in a pupil's best interests", a school may need to give a pupil less than full-time education through a temporary part-time timetable. The example it gives is a medical condition that stops a child attending full-time, where a reduced timetable helps them access as much education as possible.

The four conditions a part-time timetable must meet

The guidance says a part-time timetable should:

1. Have the agreement of both the school and the parent the child normally lives with. A school cannot impose one on you.
2. Have a clear ambition and form part of the child's wider support, health care or reintegration plan.
3. Have regular review dates that include the child and parents, so it lasts only as long as it has to.
4. Have a proposed end date, after which the child is expected back full-time, at school or in alternative provision. It can be extended at a review, and in limited cases a child with a long-term health condition may need one for a longer period.

If your child has a social worker, the school is expected to keep them informed and involved. If your child has an education, health and care plan, the school should talk to the local authority so that the support in the plan can be reviewed quickly. Our EHCP guide explains how that review works.

Can a school use a part-time timetable for behaviour?

No. The attendance guidance says plainly that a part-time timetable "should not be used to manage a pupil's behaviour". The suspension and permanent exclusion guidance that took effect on 26 July 2026 goes further: it lists "placing a pupil on a part-time timetable for behavioural reasons" as an example of off-rolling, alongside sending a child home without a formal suspension, even when the parents agree.

That matters because a formal suspension comes with protections: the reasons must be given to you in writing and the exclusion must be recorded. If your child is being sent home early or kept out of lessons because of behaviour, and there has been no formal suspension letter, ask the school in writing which it is. Our guide to school exclusions sets out the process schools must follow.

How it is recorded on the register

When a school agrees a part-time timetable it has agreed that your child will be absent for part of the day or week, and it must record that properly. For pupils of compulsory school age this is normally code C2, leave of absence for a pupil on a part-time timetable, which counts as authorised absence. Children below compulsory school age, such as many reception pupils, are recorded with code X for sessions they are not expected to attend.

Because the absence is authorised, the hours your child is not timetabled to be in school should not count against you for attendance fines. Our pages on school attendance rules and attendance fines explain how the codes feed into that.

When a part-time timetable can help

Used properly, a short reduced timetable can be a sensible bridge back into school. Common situations include:

• returning after a long illness, an operation or a mental health crisis;
• a medical condition that causes fatigue, such as long-term recovery from glandular fever or chronic fatigue;
• a phased return after a long absence linked to anxiety or school refusal, as part of a wider plan.

In each case the timetable should build up, with the review dates used to add sessions as your child copes.

When your child is too ill to attend at all

Separate guidance covers children who cannot attend school because of their health. If it is clear a child will be away for 15 school days or more because of health needs, whether in one block or added up over the year, the local authority should arrange suitable alternative education. The law expects this to be full-time unless that would not be in the child's interests for health reasons, in which case part-time education can be provided, with the aim of returning to full-time as soon as health allows. Ask your school or the local authority's medical needs or hospital education service if this applies.

What to do if you are worried

1. Ask for the plan in writing. It should state the hours, the reason, the support around it, the review dates and the end date.
2. Only agree if it is in your child's interests. You can say no, and you can ask for changes.
3. Keep a record of the hours your child actually attends and any sessions cancelled at short notice.
4. Use the review meetings to push for more hours as soon as your child is ready.
5. Complain if it drifts. If there is no end date, no reviews, or it is being used to manage behaviour, raise it with the headteacher and then the governors through the school's complaints procedure. For maintained schools you can also contact the local authority. Our guide on how to complain about a school covers the steps.

If your child has special educational needs, the SEND rights guide explains what extra support you can ask for.

More guides for parents on the Schools Insight homepage.