FAQs for Parents and Guardians

These questions are those most frequently asked by newcomer's to home education. Each answer has a link to further information, sometimes in my web site and other times to other peoples web sites. These answers are not intended to be definitive legal replies but they are as far as I understand accurate for those living in England and Wales there are references to alternative sources for those living elsewhere. If you need any further help you can contact me

What is home education?

Home Education (HE) is when parents provide an education for their children in ways other than by full time schooling.

Is it legal?

Yes, HE is legal in all parts of the UK and always has been. In England and Wales Home education is given equal status with schools under section 7 of the 1996 education act which says:

'The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full time education suitable a) to his age ability and aptitude, and b) any special educational needs he may have, either by attendance at a school or otherwise.'

Where "otherwise" refers to the right to home educate your child. Other parts of the UK have their own similar arrangements. Scotland, Northern Ireland

Is the law different in various parts of the UK?

Yes, while home education is legal in all parts of the UK and while the law is essentially the same in most details the actual legislation, applicable case law and the procedural application of the law depends upon where in the UK you live.

This web site is written particularly with reference to the law in England and Wales. The laws in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man are different.

Also, while there are as yet few significant differences between England and Wales, since the creation of the Welsh assembly small differences have begun to develop as politicians stamp their identity upon educational legislation. In particular the pupil registration Regulations in England are those passed in 2005, whilst in Wales the welsh 2010 version is enforced. It is likely that in the future there will be more substantial differences between Wales and England.

One should also be aware that Southern Ireland (Eire) is a separate sovereign nation and UK law does not apply there.

What about flexi schooling?

Flexi-schooling is where a child attends school part time and is entirely at the discretion of the head teacher. Parents sometimes intend it to be for a short period while a child recovers from an illness, from bullying or other temporary difficulty and sometimes parents intend to continue to home educate for more extended periods. There are some difficulties with arranging flexi schooling. See here or here for more information.

Do I need to have any qualifications?

You do not need to be a teacher or have any other special qualifications. Research shows that children of parents without qualifications do as well as those whose parents have them. See my Legal Guide for further advice.

How do I start?

If your child has never been to school, you just carry on. You need to take no action. You do not need to inform the LA. However, if your child is in school you must formally deregister by writing to the Head teacher and say that you intend to teach your child at home. What happens then depends upon where you live and your child's needs.

England & Wales: If your child is at an ordinary school then the school must delete your child from the register; you do not need permission to HE. See my legal and deregistration guides for further information.
England: You must formally deregister your child if you have asked and been offered a place in a school, even if the child has not attended.
Special schools: If your child has special needs and attends a special school you need permission to deregister. See my Deregistration Guide for further advice.
Scotland and Northern Ireland: You need permission, which they may not unreasonably withhold. See Scotland & NI

Can I home educate a child with a Statement of Special Needs ?

Yes, there is no law prohibiting the home education of a statemented child provided s/he is not attending a special school, in which case you need the consent of the LA (which may not be unreasonably be withheld). However, you need to be able to show that you can provide for these special needs should the LA enquire. See my legal and deregistration guides for further information.

How does compulsory school age affect home educators?

As a parent you must provide an education for your child during compulsory school age. The law says that this can be at home. See this guide to work out the compulsory school age for your child.

Is there any financial help?

There is no financial help from any source. However some LAs will allow you access to local teacher resources and you may be able to arrange extended borrowing facilities from local libraries and discounted access to other council run facilities like sports centres. Other local home educators will be able to inform you of what is available in your area.

Will I be monitored?

Many parents who's children have never been to school or have moved home since leaving school are unknown to their LA and therefore have no monitoring and others have satisfied their LA to such an extent that the LA never return. In law their is no duty for an LA to monitor a home educated child's provision but in practice they often do.

When you withdraw your child from school the LA will almost certainly want to discuss the educational provision you have planned. If you refuse to respond to their informal questions they are permitted under case law to assume that you are failing to provide any education and issue a School Attendance Order (which will force you to return your child to school or fine you should you refuse.) However you may challenge this in court.

When presenting evidence of your educational provision they may not prescribe how that evidence is to be presented. They cannot for example say you must fill in a form or allow a home visit. Therefore I would advise you to provide evidence to the LA which would satisfy a "reasonable person" that you are offering education to your children. See my Legal Guide for further advice.

Will we have time to set ourselves up?

Lord Wolf in the Perry case said that inspections should be fair:

"Essentially the duty of an education authority in carrying out that function [inspection] is, in my opinion, simply to give the applicant a fair and reasonable opportunity to satisfy it as to the matters set out in the Regulation. Prima facie this opportunity will appropriately be given (as was done in the present case) if the Authority, having first allowed the parents a sufficient time to set in motion their arrangements for home education,"

R v Gwent County Council Court of Appeal (Civil Division) 129 SJ 737, 10 July 1985

Will they continue to monitor?

This is a contentious, and complex issue. There is no legal duty for an LA to continue to monitor your provision once they have accepted that you are providing an adequate education. However, at least one LA has (falsely) asserted its right to continue to monitor on the grounds that as a child grows older then your provision must change and thus they need to monitor the new provision. Even were this true it would only justify monitoring once a year at most. In any event if you failed to provide evidence of your provision I believe that the LA would issue an SAO on the grounds that as you have failed to provide evidence of educational provision they assume that there is no education being provided. If this point is an issue for you, you may ultimately need the services of an experienced lawyer. See my legal guide for further advice.

Will I have to have home visits?

The law is clear, you are not required to allow home visits other than in rare and extreme circumstances. Some HE parents do however allow access at their own discretion. You are entitled to arrange to meet with the LA representative at some other location like a library or even a MacDonalds. See my legal and home visit guides for further advice.

What about my child's Statement of Educational Needs?

Parents have no obligation to fulfil the requirements for provision as laid out in section 4 of a statement of special needs. These statements can only place obligations upon the LA. However as a parent you must provide an education suitable to your child's special needs. So you will have to find some way of ensuring that your child's educational needs are fulfilled.

Will I have to arrange for SAT's testing?

SAT's testing is only a requirement at state schools and is therefore not relevant to home education. Your child should not be tested by the LA. See my legal guide for further advice.

Do I have to teach the National Curriculum?

The National Curriculum only applies to state schools as do things like literacy and numeracy hours. As a home educator it is up to you and your child what, how and when you study. However, should you want to follow the national curriculum the DfES web site has details of what it covers which you can download. See my legal guide for further advice.

Some LAs assert that parents have to provide a "broad and balanced" education as in the national curriculum. The legislative basis for this claim arises from section 351 of the 1996 Education Act which only applies to pupils in school. Therefore such insistence is without legal foundation. See the following article for more information.

In fact the legal demand in section 7 of the 1996 education act, that home educated children are provided with a tailor made education, means that simply providing broad education would be inadequate. A home educated child's education should specifically address his or her individual needs.

So what should I teach?

This is entirely up to you. The law does not prescribe particular subjects. Though you must provide an education suitable to your child's needs.

What about course work and curricula?

There is a wealth of material on the internet which you can find by searching. There are other home education web sites which make suggestions and list resources that home educators have used and of course there are lots of books in good local bookshops covering Key stages used in schools.

One piece of advice would be not to spend a fortune on such materials before you are sure you need them. I suggest that you begin by finding out what your child is interested in and following that for at least a while. This will help you understand better what works for your child and what does not. Muddle Puddle is one example.

What about tutors?

Most home educators never employ tutors other than occasional music or art teachers. The LA may be willing to suggest tutors on their supply teachers list or used by their home tutoring service (normally used for children who are sick or who have behavior problems).

Can my child still take exams?

Yes, you can arrange for children to take exams as external candidates at various exam centres such as colleges of further education. You will need to make enquiries and talk to other home educators in your area to find out where to look. You can use correspondence courses such as the National Extension College (who offer a discount to home educators). Some home educators enrol children onto Open University courses without using GCEs or GCSEs at all. This strategy can work very well.

However, there are no grants available to cover the costs.

What is the likely effect going to be on my friends and extended family?

Most people are poorly informed about both the legality of home education and the day to day practicalities of how home education works. Despite this, for reasons that remain unclear, some people react very negatively to the news that someone close to them intends to home educate.

During the research for The Face of Home Based Education 1 I found a clear pattern to the reactions of members of extended families.

Often members of your close extended family will assume that home education is difficult, expensive, legally suspect and unlikely to produce confident well balanced and properly educated young adults. Overall they are likely to be fearful for your children's future. Yet the reaction of people close to families who home educate seems to go further than simple concern. This, sometimes quite vehement reaction, has led many who home educate to conclude that their rejection of school is taken to be a challenge or rejection to the parenting decisions of close family and friends.

In practice nearly all home educators who have gone through this experience find that as time passes and those close to them see the children's progress, friends and family tend to view your decision to home educate more favorably. That is not to say that you won't lose some friends or the support of some family members along the way.

Will my child be socially isolated?

Among home educators socialisation is known as the S word. It is by far the most frequently raised issue by those who lack knowledge or experience of home education, whilst it is of the least concern to families who have home educated for some time.

There is lots of support around for home educating children, and in most parts of the country there are plenty of things happening and plenty of opportunity to socialise. See the following article.

Many families regularly attend local groups which are now available in most parts of the UK. There are also a number of camps in the summer ranging from just a handful of families getting together for a weekend to many hundreds of families gathering for a week long festival of home education. See HESFES.

Local groups often organise events, classes and visits to places of interest. some larger groups organise overnight trips to places of greater interest. these are not just educational opportunities but places where young people can socialise.

Many older children have begun to use instant messaging facilities and have over recent years developed quite large networks of those they have met at camps and local groups.