Home education

This page provides information on the procedure and requirements for home educating children.

Section 7 Education Act 1996 places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age receives a suitable education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. This can be fulfilled by home educating your child.

The Department for Education has issued non-statutory guidance on this area titled Elective Home Education. 

What is compulsory school age?

A child is of compulsory school age at the beginning of the first term after their 5th birthday. Therefore:

• children who turn 5 years old between 1st January and 31st March will be of compulsory school age at the beginning of the school term after 1st April;
• children who turn 5 years old between 1st April and 31st August will be of compulsory school age at the beginning of the school term after 1st September;
• children who turn 5 years old between 1st September and 31st December will be of compulsory school age at the beginning of the school term after 1st January.

A child remains of compulsory school age until the last Friday in June in the school year that they turn 16 years old. 

Am I allowed to home educate my child?

Elective home education is a term used to describe a choice by parents to provide education for their children at home - or at home and in some other way which they choose - instead of sending them to school full-time.

It is possible to teach a child at home on a full or part-time basis at any time, as long as the child is not subject to a School Attendance Order. Parents do not need the consent of the school or local authority.

However, if the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and is attending a special school by arrangement of the local authority (i.e. it is the school or type of school named in the EHCP), permission must be sought from the local authority to remove the child from the school roll.

Children with an EHCP can be educated at home. If the provision of home education is named in the EHCP, the local authority is under an obligation to arrange that education for the child. In some cases, it might be best for both the parent and local authority to make provision for the child. A parent can request a statutory assessment or reassessment of their child's needs in the same way as a child attending school. See our page on Special Educational Needs for more information.

If home education is not named as a special educational provision in the EHCP, then the local authority will not need to secure the special educational provision named in the plan and can add a note to explain that the parent has made other suitable arrangements for the child's education. If the child's EHCP names a school or type of school but the parent has chosen to home educate the child, the local authority must be satisfied that the education is suitable and will review the EHCP annually.

The law says I must provide 'suitable education'. What does this mean?

The education must be:

• full-time - There is no legal definition of “full-time” in terms of education at home, or at school. Children attending school normally have about five hours tuition a day for 190 days a year, spread over about 38 weeks. However, home education does not have to mirror this. In practice, the question of whether education for a specific child is full-time will depend on the facts of each case; but parents should at least be able to quantify and demonstrate the amount of time for which the child is being educated. 
• efficient - There is no definition of this in statute law. However, it can be interpreted as meaning education which ‘achieves what it is intended to achieve’. This is not the same as the education being ‘suitable’ - because it is possible to deliver efficiently an education which is definitely not suitable for the child. Conversely, it is possible to deliver a suitable education very inefficiently
• suitable - to the child's age, ability and aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. The education must equip the child for life within the community and must not limit a child's options in later life. 

What steps do I have to take to remove my child from school and home educate him or her?

The parent should write to the head teacher of the child's school. A template is provided here:

Headteacher's Name

Address

Date

Dear [Headteacher's name]

RE: [child's name and date of birth]

I wish to withdraw [child's name] from school in order to home educate him or her.

I wish for his or her name to be removed from the admissions register under
Regulation 9(1)(f) of the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2024.

Yours Sincerely

[Your name]

Once the school has received written notification from the parent that a pupil is receiving education other than at school, they must delete the child's name from the school roll.

The school must inform the local authority under Regulation 13 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulation 2024 of any pupil who is going to be removed from the admissions register where the child will be home educated. The parent should be copied in this correspondence. Once the child is removed from the school roll, the local authority is no longer under a duty to provide education, and this duty falls to the parent.

What are the expected standards of home education?

If a parent chooses to home educate their child:

• there is no obligation to follow the national curriculum or the same syllabus/topics as a school;
• there is no obligation to have rooms or premises equipped to a particular standard;
• the times when the education takes place does not need to match school terms, days or hours and the parents does not have to have a scheduled timetable;
• there is no need to be registered with the Department for Education or be inspected by Ofsted.

However, local authorities can expect the following:

• consistent involvement of parents or other significant carers;
• recognition of the child's needs, attitudes and aspirations;
• opportunities for the child to be stimulated by their learning experiences;
• access to resources/materials required to provide home education for the child.

What can the local authority do to check the standard of home education?

Each local authority should have a clear written policy about elective home education. 

Under Section 436A Education and Inspections Act 2006, local authorities must make arrangements to identify children of compulsory school age in their area who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education other than at school. 

Local authorities do not have any statutory duties to routinely monitor the quality of home education. Case law has held that local authorities cannot insist on inspecting parents and children in their home or elsewhere. If a parent refuses to let the local authority enter the home or speak to the child, this cannot constitute, on its own, a cause for concern about the education provision. Local authorities can make informal inquiries but cannot insist on evidence from the parents in any prescribed form.

We would advise parents to cooperate with the local authority as much as possible if they are making inquiries about home education so that the matter can be resolved informally.

What formal measures can the local authority take if they do not think I am providing a suitable education?

Under Section 437(1) Education Act 1996, local authorities shall intervene if it appears that the parents are not providing a suitable education. They can serve a notice in writing to the parent asking the parent to demonstrate that the child is receiving a suitable education and setting a specified period of time in which the parent must demonstrate this. That period of time should not be less than 15 days from the date on which the notice was served.

School Attendance Orders

If the parent fails to satisfy the local authority within the notice period that they are providing the child with a suitable education, the local authority can serve a school attendance order on them. The school attendance order can name a school that the child should attend. This is usually a last resort and should only be done when all reasonable steps have been exhausted.

The parent can provide evidence at any time to request that the order be revoked. If a parent is dissatisfied with the conduct of the local authority, they can make a complaint to the Secretary of State for Education or the Local Government Ombudsman.

Will I receive any financial support to educate my child at home?

The parent assumes full financial responsibility for the home education of their child, including the costs of any public examinations. However, local authorities can provide support in some circumstances, for example:

• a library to lend books;
• free/discounted admission to local authority sports facilities;
• national curriculum materials;
• information about educational visits and work experience.

It is advisable for a parent to check with their local authority about the support available in their area.

If a parent wishes their child to return to school,  they can apply for schools at any point during the academic year. See our page on School Admissions for more information.

For further information on home education contact Education Otherwise.