Guide · Updated 5 October 2026
Part time timetables: the rules, the risks, and how to get pupils back to full time
A part time timetable should be used only in very exceptional circumstances, should be temporary, should have the agreement of the school and the parent the pupil normally lives with, needs a plan and a date for returning to full time, and should not be used to manage behaviour. The expectation is a defined end point. The end date and the plan are the two things most often missing.
By Barry Reed, former founding headteacher of an SEMH and autism special school. Written from the guidance in force on 5 October 2026; check the current version on gov.uk before relying on it.
When is a part time timetable allowed?
The DfE's attendance guidance allows a reduced timetable only in very exceptional circumstances, for example as part of a planned reintegration after illness or a long absence, or where a pupil's needs genuinely cannot be met full time while support is put in place. It should be agreed between the school and the parent the pupil normally lives with, kept under regular review, shared with any social worker, discussed with the local authority where there is an EHC plan or a local protocol, and planned from the start to end. A pupil on a part time timetable is still on roll and the school remains responsible for their education.
Why must it never be used to manage behaviour?
Because a part time timetable used to keep a pupil out of the building can amount to an unlawful exclusion. It removes education without the protections, recording and governor oversight the exclusions guidance requires, and it falls most often on pupils with SEND, who are protected under the Equality Act. The suspensions and exclusions guidance expects schools to consider additional support and reasonable adjustments for pupils with SEND before excluding; a part time timetable cannot be used to avoid that process.
What does a good reintegration plan look like?
It names the end date, the steps between now and then, who does what each week, what support will be in place in the lessons the pupil returns to, and how the school will know the plan is working. It is reviewed every two or three weeks with the parent and the pupil. The most common failure is a plan with no date, reviewed only when something goes wrong.
How does this connect to bases, restraint and suspensions?
Pupils on part time timetables are usually the same pupils who appear in restraint and suspension records and in the base register. Reading the four together shows whether a school's approach is working for the pupils whose needs show up as behaviour, which is also how a school shows it is meeting need rather than managing it away. It also shows where a school is quietly running out of options for a pupil, which is the moment to involve the local authority rather than shorten the day again.
Checklist
Ten minutes with your timetables.
Questions a head or a chair can ask this week. No answer is a finding in itself.
- How many pupils are on a part time timetable today, and does the head know the number?
- Does every one have a written end date within this term?
- Did parents agree in writing, and were they offered a full time place?
- Is each plan reviewed at least every three weeks, with the parent present?
- Where a pupil has a social worker or an EHC plan, have they and the local authority been involved?
- Do the pupils on reduced timetables also appear in restraint or suspension records?
- Is there any pupil on a part time timetable because of behaviour rather than need?
- Does the governing body see the numbers each term?
Questions
Questions schools ask.
Is there a legal maximum length for a part time timetable?
The guidance does not set a fixed number of weeks. It requires the arrangement to be temporary and time limited with a clear plan to return to full time, and expects it to be as short as possible. The expectation is a defined end point.
Can a parent request a part time timetable?
A parent can ask, and some do when a child is anxious about school. The school and the parent both have to agree, and the same conditions apply: exceptional circumstances, a plan, a date and regular review.
What happens if a pupil has an EHC plan?
The local authority must still secure the provision in the plan, so a part time timetable for a pupil with an EHC plan should be discussed with the authority early, so the support package can be reviewed quickly.
If you want a second pair of eyes
Governance Check
Redewell offers a one to one and a half day check of your restraint and suspension records against the guidance, with a cross check of the part time timetable register, written for the head and the chair. One published rate, £700 a day, no VAT. How it works
Let's talk
Twenty minutes is usually enough to know whether a review would help.
If it would not, I will say so, and point you to free support instead.
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