So You Want to Home Educate

Thinking about Home Education (HE)

We've all been there and it's a big decision. Send an email or give us a ring (see the footer) and then come along to a meeting. The decision is much less scary once you have talked to families and seen how well the children are doing.

If you are not sure, take a look at some of the positive stories in Why H.E.

Is Home Ed Legal?

Yes it is. It is covered by the Education Act 1996.

Once you Have Decided to Home Ed

This is what you need to do:

• If your children are under 5 and have never been registered with a school, then just go ahead. You don't need to inform anyone of your decision.
• If you children are at school, then you need to send a deregistration letter to the school which says that your child is receiving an education at home. A sample letter is enclosed.
• The only exception is if your child has a statement and attends a Special School, then you have to get permission to deregister from the LA first.

I am now Home Educating

If you have deregistered your child(ren) from school then you will probably receive a letter from the LA telling you that they will be visiting you and asking you to fill in a questionnaire about your 'provision'.

They have no legal right to visit and you do not need to fill in their questionnaire. See here for more details. Also download the EHE Guidelines 2007. Case law has established that you would wise not to ignore them altogether, however you are entitled to provide information in whatever form you see fit.

The EHE Guidelines state:

3.6 Some parents may welcome the opportunity to discuss the provision that they are making for the child’s education during a home visit but parents are not legally required to give the local authority access to their home. They may choose to meet a local authority representative at a mutually convenient and neutral location instead, with or without the child being present, or choose not to meet at all. Where a parent elects not to allow access to their home or their child, this does not of itself constitute a ground for concern about the education provision being made. Where local authorities are not able to visit homes, they should, in the vast majority of cases, be able to discuss and evaluate the parents’ educational provision by alternative means. If they choose not to meet, parents may be asked to provide evidence that they are providing a suitable education. If a local authority asks parents for information they are under no duty to comply although it would be sensible for them to do so (Philips v. Brown, 1980). Parents might prefer, for example, to write a report, provide samples of work, have their educational provision endorsed by a third party (such as an independent home tutor) or provide evidence in some other appropriate form.

IF you choose to write a report (often called an educational philosophy) rather than accept a visit then you can find more details here: Educational Philosophy.

You can read more about the legal situation here.