This is a list of questions frequently asked by journalists.

It is intended to help you understand more easily, as a newcomer to the issue of Home education, what we are about and what we are not about as a community. It should be of use to you when formulating interviews on issues regarding home education. It is a new resource which will grow as Home educators inform me more about the information required.

Is Home education legal?

Without going into the details of the law (which can be found here) Home education is a legal choice made by many thousands of home educators in the UK. You do not need permission to home educate in England and Wales and there is a campaign to have this adopted as good practice in Scotland. It is the duty of every parent to provide an education commensurate to a child's age aptitude and ability and any special needs he or she may have either in school or otherwise.

Many Home educators are unknown to their LEA's as there is no duty to inform them of your decision (except to deregister your child from a school). LEA's will want to satisfy themselves that a parent is discharging their duty to educate but may not prescribe what that education might be except insofar as it fulfils the above criteria.

Do Home educators receive any state funding?

Whilst it is theoretically possible for an LEA to give funding to a child being home educated I don't know of any instance where this has happened. While most Home educators would welcome financial assistance they are for the most part fiercely independent and would unhappy to loose any rights they have to educate their children their way in return.

Is home education a growing phenomina

Yes, from my research there are now (2007) estimated to be perhaps 50,000 home educated children in the UK and it could be growing at around 17% per annum. Some LEAs have reported growth rates in excess of this figure.

Why do you Home educate?

Home educators who home educate do so for a number of reasons. By and large we can be divided into two broad categories.

Many Home educate because they had a problem with a particular school. Typical problems include bullying, poor educational standards, a structural problem with the local school's ethos, or issues concerning special needs provision. Sometimes the reason for Home education is that the family failed to get their child into the school of their choice, or has objections to the school's use of the national curriculum or requirements such as the literacy hour

Others home educate because they have some objection to the very idea of schooling. It might be philosophical, political or religious. For example they may object to the idea of caging their children up for 6 hours a day, they may feel that education should be a community activity rather than an institutional one, perhaps they believe it should remain a family obligation to educate their children, They may believe that they as parents can do a better job than the school, they may have become concerned over reports of drug abuse in their school, they may be travellers. They may want more control over the content of their children's education. Indeed it may be any of a number of reasons.

It is frequently the case that a family will begin to Home educate for the first reason but as a family's experience of Home education grows they continue to Home educate for the second reason.

Whatever the reason all Home educating families are dedicated to their children's future and firmly believe that it is in their child's best interest.

What is your day to day routine?

Day to day routines also vary. There is no obligation in law to follow any particular curricula or syllabus or set hours. Some families may set aside so many hours a day. Some follow curricula, perhaps correspondence courses while others follow their child's lead using what is known as "purposive conversation" as a tool for learning. Others attempt to copy school even to the extent of having a timetable and a room set aside where teaching is done and resources are kept.

There is a tendency for families to become less formal as their experience and confidence grows. As their trust in their child's thirst for knowledge develops they tend to follow their child's lead more.

In some cases, when a child has been recently withdrawn from school after particularly traumatic events (bullying for example) there is a period of readjustment to a more natural form of family life. Sometimes the whole family needs this period of calm and reflection before they can begin the process of living again as a family. This is often known as de-schooling, a process where the influence of school is relinquished by the child's psyche.

Do you follow the National Curriculum?

There is no requirement in law to do so as only state schools need to comply with it. Although rarely some parents do follow the national curriculum to some extent I have never encountered a family who do so completely. Occasionally a family may keep the national curriculum in mind if they intend to return the child to the system at some later date.

How do you socialise?

This is often the first question asked of most Home educating families as it is often thought that children are isolated in their homes meeting no one. In fact Home educating families rarely see this as a problem. Home educating children often meet up and attend other groups such as woodcraft folk, girls and boys brigade, scouts etc. as well as attending classes like dance, climbing, gymnastics, history and environmental and natural history groups etc. Additionally Home educators use resources such as libraries and museums, with which they sometimes have arrangements to get in free.

Many Home educating families and people they encounter report that Home educated children often relate better on a one to one basis with adults as they don't have as a dominant experience the influence of a hierarchical relationship found in schools. This helps the child become more responsible. The "us and them" attitude is often totally lacking in their behaviour. There is less peer pressure as parents have improved relationships with their children. Bullying is almost totally absent from large gatherings of Home educators.

Do you do all the exams?

Home educators do not do SAT's testing which are the preserve of state schools. The purpose of SAT's is to audit the quality of schools which receive state funding. However There are facilities for Home educating children to take GCSE's and A levels by enrolling as external candidates. Sometimes Home educating children will take exams early (sometimes as young as aged 14) and spread the load. Other children enrol in NVQ's and GNVQ's. Another option for older children is to enrol into individual adult courses for subjects difficult to supply at home an option usually possible at the discretion of the head of the collage Open University is becoming a popular choice with children as young as 8 taking degree foundation courses.

Can you get into University?

Yes. It is possible to obtain a University place either in the normal way or sometimes by portfolio entrance depending upon the course. Enrolment tutors have a growing awareness of Home education as a phenomenon and are often quite keen to have such students at their collages. In the United States Harvard University has gone as far as reserving places for Home educated students. Alaso Open University is becoming a popular choice sometimes as an alternative to GCSEs or GCEs or as complete degrees.

Is there any source of information I can keep up to date with new developemnts?

Yes there is an Email news service which carries occasional items which may be of interest to those interested in home education here