Printable
LA response letter template UK
The letter you have been rewriting in your head since the council envelope arrived. A short, factual reply citing Section 7, describing your provision in one paragraph and politely declining a home visit. Fill in the blanks, send it, close the file.
- Pages
- 2
- Format
- A4 Word
- Updated
- 10 May 2026
Pairs with our guide: read the article.
A note on use
“We don’t mind what you do with it. Print it, edit it, cross out the bits that don’t fit your family. The licence is: use freely, don’t resell.”
About this template
What this template does
The council has written to you. The envelope has been sitting on the kitchen counter for a day or two, and you have already drafted three versions of a reply in your head, each one longer than the last. You added a timetable, then deleted it. You started describing your philosophy, then wondered whether that was the wrong word. You thought about offering a meeting, then lay awake asking yourself whether you actually wanted one.
This template replaces all of that. It is a short, factual letter you send back to the local authority after they write to ask about your educational provision. It cites Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 (the law that places the duty on parents to provide a suitable education, at school or otherwise), describes what you are doing in a single paragraph and politely declines a home visit. That is the whole letter.
The template does not include a curriculum, a timetable, a reading list or a philosophy statement. It does not apologise. It does not offer a meeting. It does not try to impress. Its job is to give the council enough information to be "reasonably satisfied" (a low bar, not a formal assessment, more like an honest sniff-check than a marked exam) that a suitable education is happening, and to close the enquiry at the first round of correspondence. For the full picture on what the council's letter means, which type it is and how the process works, see the LA has sent me a letter: what do I do?.
Frequently asked.
- Do I have to reply to the council's letter?
- If it is an informal enquiry (no statute cited), there is no legal duty to reply. Most families reply in writing because it is the quickest way to close the file and avoid follow-up. If the letter cites Section 437 or uses the words 'Notice to Satisfy', treat it as urgent and contact Education Otherwise before you respond.
- Can I refuse a home visit?
- Yes. Local authorities in England have no statutory power to enter your home or to insist on a face-to-face meeting with a home-educating family. The DfE's 2019 Elective Home Education guidance for parents confirms this. Offering a written reply or a video call is a reasonable alternative.
- How much detail do I need to include?
- Less than you think. A short paragraph describing the general approach and a few concrete recent examples is enough for most informal enquiries. The letter is not a curriculum, a philosophy statement or a defence. Keep it to one page.
- What if my child has an EHCP?
- If the enquiry is about educational provision, you can still reply with this template. If the council is disputing the deregistration itself because your child has an EHCP at a special school named in the plan, that is a different situation. See our guide on deregistering with an EHCP at a special school, and contact IPSEA for specific advice.
- Does this template work in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
- The default letter is written for England. The template includes optional variant clauses for Wales (minor wording change), Scotland (different statutory basis) and Northern Ireland (Education Authority route). Each variant is clearly labelled.
The app does this without paper
Or you can keep using the printables. Both work.
The activity log fills the year-at-a-glance sheet for you, and the council report draft writes itself from your records. The demo is real, the data is fictional.