No.
DfE’s statutory guidance is unusually blunt here: managed moves must be voluntary and agreed by everyone involved, including the parents and the admission authority of the receiving school. A move presented to a family as the only alternative to permanent exclusion, or arranged between two heads without the parents’ agreement, is not a managed move as the guidance describes it. This one is a “must”, not a “should”.
updated 5 Feb 2025last checked 11 Sept 2026
What the source actually says
Under the section on managed moves:
“Managed moves must be voluntary and agreed with all parties involved, including the parents and the admission authority of the new school. Managed moves should only occur when it is in the child’s best interests and should be offered as part of a planned intervention.”
— Alternative provision, DfE statutory guidance, published 5 February 2025, § Managed moves DfE
On what has to happen before the move:
“Any managed move should be preceded by information sharing between the home school and the new school, including data on prior and current attainment, academic potential, a risk assessment and advice on effective risk management strategies.”
— Alternative provision, DfE statutory guidance, published 5 February 2025, § Managed moves DfE
The guidance defines its own terms: “Must – where a person or body has a legal duty to do (or not do) something.” The word in the voluntariness sentence is “must”.
Your school may still require it
Your school can add its own process on top — trial periods, review meetings, written agreements — and can direct you to take part in it. What it cannot do is treat the family’s agreement as optional.
See also Does a pupil we place in alternative provision come off our roll? and Can anyone other than the headteacher exclude a pupil?.